Two red hot American advertising icons, the Goodyear blimp, which first took flight in 1925, and the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, which first shifted into gear in 1936, met for the first time Nov. 7 at the airship’s home base hangar in Suffield, Ohio.
The Wienermobile was visiting nearby Akron in support of the Downtown Akron Partnership civic organization.
The Wienermobile – which rolls on Goodyear Unisteel G647 RSS tires – and the blimp each travel the country displaying their respective companies’ logos while routinely supporting a variety of charities and conducting various marketing functions.
The original Wienermobile was cooked up by Carl Mayer, the nephew of company founder Oscar Mayer. It has evolved since then, and the corporation has relished the experience. Although gas rationing kept the Wienermobile off the road during World War II, in the 1950s Oscar Mayer (the firm) and the Gerstenslager Co. created several new versions using Dodge and Jeep chassis, according to an online history treatise.
In 1969, new Wienermobiles were built on a Chevrolet motor home chassis featuring add-on Ford Thunderbird taillights. The 1969 vehicle was the first Wienermobile to travel to foreign countries. In 1976 Plastic Products, Inc. built a fiberglass and styrofoam model, again on a Chevy RV chassis.
In 1995, the Wienermobile grew in size to 27-feet long and 11-feet high. In 2000, the big dog was given the power of a 5700 General Motors Vortec engine. The most recent version of the Wienermobile, built in 2004, has been updated to include a voice activated GPS system, an audio center with a wireless microphone, and a horn that plays the Wiener Jingle in 21 different genres from Cajun to Rap to Bossa Nova, according to the publication American Eats. There are six Wienermobiles in existence. The current Wienermobile design sports fourth-generation Pontiac Firebird taillights along with the Goodyear tires.
For more information, visit www.goodyear.com/corporate and www.kraftfoods.com/oscarmayer.
