Oscar Mayer

The Oscar Mayer logo

Oscar Mayer is an American meat and cold cut production company, owned by Kraft Foods, known for its hot dogs, bologna, bacon and Lunchables products.

History

German immigrant Oscar F. Mayer (March 29, 1859 in Kösingen, near Neresheim, Württemberg – March 11, 1955) began working at a meat market in Detroit, Michigan, and later in Chicago, Illinois. In 1883 in Chicago, Oscar Mayer, along with his brother Gottfried, leased the Kolling Meat Market, on the near-northside of Chicago. The two sold bratwurst, liverwurst, and weißwurst and were popular in the predominantly German neighborhoods of Chicago around the market.^[1]

As the meat market's popularity grew, it expanded its storefront and sponsored local events including the Chicago World's Fair in 1893.^{[citation needed]} By 1900, the company had 43 employees and Chicago-wide delivery service. In 1904, Oscar Mayer began branding its meats to capitalize on their popularity, beginning an industry-wide trend. In 1906, Oscar Mayer became one of the first companies to voluntarily submit to the newly-created Food Safety Inspection Service (part of the United States Department of Agriculture) for testing the purity of their products.^{[citation needed]}

Wienermobile, downtown Lexington, KY

Oscar Mayer is also famous for their Wienermobile, which has toured the United States for over 70 years. The first Wiener mobile was created in 1936, and nine have since been built.

Oscar Gustave Mayer, grandson of the founder and the third Oscar Mayer to head the company until he retired in 1977, remarried in 1999, at the age of 85.

The classic 1989 hip-hop song Funky Cold Medina performed by Tone Lōc includes the line 'I don't fool around with no Oscar Mayer weiner'.

In 2007, the company was subject to an email hoax which claimed that Oscar G. Mayer did not support the United States military.^[2][3] On July 6, 2009, Oscar G. Mayer died of old age at 95 in Hospice Care in Fitchburg, Wisconsin.

The "Oscar-Mayer-Platz" in the village of Kösingen, now in the Federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, is named after him.

Advertisements

Oscar Mayer had several advertisements on TV, but the most famous ad was probably the Oscar Mayer "Wiener" Ad in 1965. This ad has been referred to as one of the best classic ads in the USA. The commercial shows a young girl leading a group of children, singing about how they "wish they were an Oscar Mayer Wiener". After, a young boy is seen, and he starts singing about how he's "glad he's not an Oscar Mayer Wiener", with the same tune as the original singing. ^[4]

The advertisement itself has received several million views on various video sharing sites such as YouTube, GetBack, and others, as well as being featured on YahooMusic in March 2009.^[5]

References

1. ^ "Oscar Mayer Company History". http://brands.kraftfoods.com/oscarmayer/pdf/OM_Company_History.pdf. Retrieved 2009-04-22. 
2. ^ "Starbucks Refuses Marines". http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/starbucks.asp. Retrieved 2009-04-22. 
3. ^ "Oscar Mayer Supports the Troops Myth, Hoax and Rumor". http://brands.kraftfoods.com/oscarmayer/hoaxes_rumors. Retrieved 2009-04-22. 
4. ^ "Oscar Mayer "Wiener" Ad 1965 in color". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNddW2xmZp8. 
5. ^ "The Best TV Jingles". http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/getback/114685/the-best-tv-jingles/. 

External links

• Oscar Mayer Homepage
• Commercial for the Oscar Mayer "Wiener", where the children sing
• Yahoo! Music featuring the Oscar Mayer "Wiener" song