Fast Food - The Wonderful World of Product Mobiles

The Wienermobile on the Today Show

2012-01-27T14:59:00.000-08:00

The Wienermobile popped up on the 17th hour of the Today Show:

These Boots Were Made for Rolling

2012-01-20T09:20:00.000-08:00

L.L. Bean is celebrating their 100th Anniversary in the best way possible: with a product mobile tour! Meet the Bootmobile:

Picture courtesy of the NY Times

Check out this video on the making of the vehicle:

And check back here for updates on the tour!

(Thanks again to Uncle Frank)

Thermal

2012-01-02T04:49:00.000-08:00

There's an interesting article on the Bowery Boys blog that chronicles the history of the Thermos company. And, of course, they had to mention the Thermos product mobile:

From the article:

"The product began popping up in truly odd places, all engineered for the maximum of publicity. Most of the 200,000 New Yorkers who lined Broadway for an "automobile carnival parade" in 1909 observed one prize-winning vehicle -- a car in the shape of a Thermos bottle. (The Thermos car below is from the 1909 Vanderbilt Cup races, in Long Island. I imagine it must be the same vehicle. Pic courtesy Vanderbilt Cup Races.)"

Read the rest of the article HERE. And thanks, once again, to Uncle Frank for the heads up!

Kiss-mas Shopping

2011-12-09T13:10:00.000-08:00

I stumbled across this little beauty for sale on the Hershey website:

I've never seen this 6 1/2 inch model for sale before but it's good to see Hershey's is still promoting imagery of the Kissmobile! I know I put it on my Christmas list!

Thanksgiving 2011 Wrap Up

2011-11-28T07:44:00.000-08:00

Another year of stuffed birds and stuffed bellies has gone by and now hear we sit: sleepy, satisfied and yet curious to know which product mobiles made their yearly parade appearances. Well, worry no more.

We start with Chicago's McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade which begins itself with, appropriately a version of the Ronald McDonald Big Red Shoe Car:

I don't think I've seen this one before and I've got to say that I'm not a big fan. It looks like some type of inflatable shoe on wheels and I share Roadside America's feelings on inflatables (spoiler: they're not good.)

Next is the Houston Holiday Parade which I believe is giving the blog its first look at the elusive H-E-B Fun Buggy:

You may be able to pick up on a theme here because next up in Houston is another Ronald McDonald Big Red Shoe car (this is the one whose creator we interviewed earlier).

And of course we have yet another Big Red Shoe Car at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade:

And Mr. Peanut arrived later in his new Nutmobile. While the older Nutmobile made several Macy's Parade appearances, this is the first time for the new one.

Not a bad turnout.

Upcoming Product Mobile Sightings

2011-11-18T09:23:00.000-08:00

Next week is Thanksgiving, the biggest product mobile holiday of the year! Why? One word: parades!

The biggest parade, Macy's, is including their usual product mobile line up: Planter's Nutmobile and the Ronald McDonald Big Red Shoe Car.

It's their usual line up but, just like every year I'm hoping for some surprise appearances (I'm usually disappointed though). I'll be all over the wishbone when it's carving time.

Nutmobile on MotorWeek

2011-11-13T16:25:00.000-08:00

The Shoe Maker

2011-10-27T08:04:00.000-07:00

We've mention the Ronald McDonald Big Red Shoe Car several times on this blog and we recently had a chance to talk with its creator Jason Barnett!

Fast Food: How did you get involved with the creation of the Shoe Car?

Jason Barnett: In about April of 2002, a friend of mine was one of the local Ronald McDonald's that made appearances at McDonald's events. He came to me and said that the Texas Gulf Coast McDonald's were looking to have a promotional vehicle made is the shape of a Ronald McDonald clown shoe and that they were going to have some of the local art car parade guys bid and build it. My friend Bill (Ronald), told me of a meeting that was to take place the next day in Houston about the shoe car idea and if I wanted to get a bid in that I had better have something ready by that morning. I immediately did a quick sketch of my idea and built a remote control model of my idea using a PT Cruiser remote control car that I bought and removed the body from.

JB: I worked all through the night and at about 5 am the remote control car was finished. The problem was, at the time I lived in Midlothian and it was a 4 hour drive to the meeting. I drove all the way down to Houston and handed over the car sketches and the remote control model. Bill is the ultimate in presenters and showmen. He waited for the meeting to start with all of the board members at their giant table and then flung open the doors and drove the remote control car into the room. Instantly my phone was ringing and the board wanted to meet. Over the next few months we went back and forth over the design and over a year later I received a check to get started.

FF: How long did it take to design and build?

JB: The actual construction process involved about two years of hard labor and itching from the fiberglass body. I had underbid the project so badly that I had to take on other jobs to fund the project. If not for that blunder, it would only have taken about a year to complete. As I was building the car, improvements were made to its design. The first thing was that I decided to make the entire nose of the car flip forward to access the engine and I decided to have suicide doors.

JB: The car was about 8ft wide in the front and narrowed down to about 4ft wide at the rear. It would have been very difficult to get to the engine with a normal car style hood. Originally the car was to be built on a 2003 Chevy1/2 ton truck chassis with a 6 cylinder engine. When I went down to buy a truck from the dealership, they made me a better deal on a truck with a V8 and cruise control. I have personally driven the shoe car well over 100mph!

FF: What was your favorite part of the process?

JB: As far as my favorite part of building the car goes. I would have to say that was when I got the fiberglass body back in from the workshop that hand laid the fiberglass. We didn't use molds. I carved the shape of the car out of huge blocks of foam and then coated them with layers of drywall mud to fill in the imperfections. The giant mock-up was sprayed with latex paint to create a barrier from the fiberglass. Once the fiberglass was laid up on the mockup and cured, I popped the new fiberglass body off of the foam. I still had a lot of hand work to do to the body, but at that point the car was coming to life. Anytime a new part was added- doors,hood, hatchback,etc., it was necessary to drive it around to test for problems and rattles. There was nothing like watching kids and adults freak out as I drove past in the 23 ft long shoe.

JB: I had it in my head from the beginning that I was going to be able to pull this off entirely by myself. Luckily for me, I had a lot of friends and family that volunteered and spent endless days and nights to make this project a reality.

Check out Jason's website for more of his unique work:

http://www.jasonbarnett.net

He's a very talented guy and we hope to cover his upcoming projects so check back soon for more details!

Off the Hook

2011-09-27T14:09:00.000-07:00

Remember the Phone Car? Well, bad news:

According to their website, here's what happened:

"On Jan 27 2011 the building that the phone car was being stored in,
collapsed from the weight of heavy snow. The crushed vehicle was
totaled by the insurance company. We bought it back with hopes
of repairing it."

You can see additional pictures of the damage of their website.

Hopefully the Phone Car will be up and running and taking calls again soon!

Sausage Party

2011-09-07T14:54:00.000-07:00

The stars aligned recently which culminated in a convergence of all the different kinds of Wienermobiles!
The Wienermobile Food Truck, one of the regular, full sized Wienermobiles and the mini Wienermobile all in the same place! And it was glorious!!

Check out more pictures of the "meating" on the Hotdogger Blog!

Planters Planting

2011-08-26T15:08:00.000-07:00

As a part of the Planters Naturally Remarkable promotional tour, Mr. Peanut his Nutmobile show up to help build parks in inner city neighborhoods (or something). Sounds good to me.

Anyhoo, here are some pictures (from Mr. Peanut's Facebook page) of the Nutmobile at some of the parks in Washington D.C. and New Orleans:

Vintage Grab Bag

2011-08-13T14:21:00.000-07:00

Good ole Uncle Frank sent us a grab bag of vintage product mobile pics:

I don't have any information on these so if you do please feel free to send it on! And go say "hi" to Uncle Frank at The Hot Dog Hall of Fame:

www.thehotdoghalloffame.com

Pastey

2011-08-07T06:35:00.000-07:00

The Crest Imagine Mobile Tour happened a few years ago and brought minty freshness to the mealy mouthed masses.

The 48 foot long trailer (yes, trailers count as product mobiles) contained eight "brushing stations" that allowed people to walk in off the street and enjoy a refreshing brush.

I have no documentation on this but I would imagine that they would strategically park near Garlic Festivals and/or Eating Contests.

Here's a short article about the tour from Event Marketer:

See also:

The Yoo-Hoo Trailer - The Pringles Trailer

Happy Birthday to the Wienermobile!

2011-08-06T07:19:00.000-07:00

Happy 75th birthday to the Wienermobile!

Check out the official birthday video:

You’re watching You’ve Got Wienermobile. See the Web's top videos on AOL Video

Peanut Vendor?

2011-07-23T06:57:00.000-07:00

Hurm. This makes me a little nervous:

Is Mr. Peanut looking to sell his new Nutmobile already? We finally got the Nutmobile back on the road! It seems a little early...

Well, if he does want to sell he should call me first. I missed out on buying the SpamMobile, I don't want to miss out on this.

(Also...you guys can loan me the money, right?)

Appealing News

2011-07-12T12:25:00.000-07:00

The Big Banana Car was featured on NPR. Here's the interview:

Wienermobile Food Truck

2011-07-03T07:02:00.000-07:00

There's a new Wienermobile in town! Check out the press release from Turtle Transit:

The Oscar Mayer brand celebrated its 75th Anniversary of the Wienermobile in New York City by unveiling the first-ever, special edition Wienermobile Food Truck; built by Turtle Transit. For 75 years, the Wienermobile has been on a mission to spread miles of smiles. The new 30-foot Wienermobile Food Truck, the largest vehicle to date, will join the current iconic fleet of seven Wienermobile vehicles. Unlike the rest of Oscar Mayer’s Wienermobile fleet, this is the first to include a commercial kitchen inside and has the functionality to serve hot dogs to the public.

Experiential agency, Pierce Promotions, challenged Turtle Transit to design the special-edition Wienermobile Food Truck. This challenging assignment required Turtle to spend a great deal of time conceptually designing the look of the new vehicle so it was as iconic as the original Wienermobile, but also a truly authentic part of the Oscar Mayer fleet. Not only was it challenging to design the overall look of the New Wienermobile, Turtle needed to engineer the vehicle to include a full-size commercial kitchen inside for sampling Oscar Mayer products.

This required Turtle meet the strict standards imposed by the National Food Safety and design a kitchen that was NFS Certified for Oscar Mayer staff to prepare and serve hotdogs to the public. In addition to the strict electrical and water standards for a kitchen vehicle, Turtle installed NFS certified stainless steel countertops for food preparation, along with NFS commercial food equipment including sinks, a freezer and a press for grilling Oscar Mayer hotdogs. From electrical wiring for ventilation, outlets and overhead lighting, to plumbing water flow from storage tanks to hand-washing sinks, Turtle spent several hours testing water quality, filtration and electrical safety requirements to meet NFS certification.

Turtle installed a flip-up vending window on the side of the vehicle for staff to serve samples during events and at retail locations. To create the Wiernermobile’s head turning and iconic look, Turtle hand-sculpted a rooftop hot dog out of fiberglass and mounted it to the vehicle to give it an impressive footprint of 30-ft in length and over 12-ft tall. Oscar Mayer partnered with Tyler Florence, Food Network Chef and host of “The Great Food Truck Race,” to unveil the vehicle on the popular morning news show, “Fox and Friends.” Hundreds gathered in Times Square for a chance to see the Wienermobile Food Truck, get a free Oscar Mayer Selects Beef Frank and enjoy special toppings created by Tyler Florence.

This summer, the Oscar Mayer Wiernermobile Food Truck will travel to 12 cities including Columbus, Detroit and Pittsburgh, to sample Oscar Mayer Selects. To help continue the Oscar Mayer “Good Mood Mission,” Tyler Florence and the Oscar Mayer brand donated $50,000 to Feeding America, the nation’s leading hunger-relief organization. Consumers can follow where the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile Food Truck will be headed or find photos of the vehicle on its Facebook page.

And check out this video of Tyler Florence rattling on about how much he loves Oscar Mayer and then making some horrible sounding pineapple salsa somthingorother:

The Sperm Bike (yeah, that's right)

2011-07-02T07:14:00.000-07:00

So this one is a little unusual (but then again aren't they all) but it definitely qualifies as a product mobile.

The Danish "Sperm Bike" carries donor samples to fertility clinics around Copenhagen. Check out the pics:

Here's the website (I think):

http://www.nordiskcryobank.dk/

Yellow Fever

2011-07-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long between updates. It's this crazy summer heat. It makes the bones lazy. I'll try and do better.

But here's where I make it up to you with the story of the Banana Car:

Here's the car's origin story:

Meat Up

2011-04-17T05:21:00.000-07:00

The Robert Bliss blog spotted a multiple product mobile pow wow in Houston recently during the NCAA Final Four:

Check out their blog entry for their thoughts on witnessing such a rare and monumental match up. Also, check out their site for some of the interesting work they are doing in mobile marketing and live events:

http://robertblissevents.com/

And in other Wienermobile news, not too long after the Wienermobile Wedding, comes the story of another good deed. The Wienermobile escorted a young motorcycle accident victim to his High School prom. Here's the story:

Shoe for the Road

2011-03-25T14:18:00.000-07:00

We've seen Ronald McDonald's Big Red Shoe Car, the Stiletto Car and a couple of Skate Cars but the Chinese wanted to get in on the action so we now have an addition to the Shoe Car Genre:

This electric car is made out of leather (I assume just the exterior though), can go up to 30 mph and was made to promote a shoe company called "Kang" (not to be confused with Kang or Kang or even Kang).

You can see it in action in the video below:

A Wienermobile Wedding

2011-03-18T09:34:00.001-07:00

Recently a couple rode off to their new life together in the Wienermobile (the story is in the middle of this video):

This is a little irritating for me as it happened in Dallas, TX and that's where I live. I would have loved to have been able to cover it for the blog.

The irritating policy of the Wienermobile to keep their destinations secret is getting increasingly...irritating. Come on Wienermobile people! Let us know where you're going to be!

Spitting Image

2011-03-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

Here's an article from a 2006 issue of the "Bullpen" newsletter about the David's Seeds "Seedmobile" which toured the country and stopped at ballparks and sporting events:

Here's a better look (courtesy of Uncle Frank from The Hot Dog Hall of Fame):

Some of the press releases I found indicate that the car spat out packages of sunflowers seeds. I can't find any video to verify that but that great big face sure looks like he's about to spit.

Going Nuts

2011-03-15T08:25:00.000-07:00

The new Nutmobile is still getting plenty of press and people just can't seem to stop commenting on Mr. Peanut's nuts:

Behold...Crushstation!

2011-03-10T07:45:00.000-08:00

Finally, a product mobile with some power!

We're no stranger to lobster themed product mobiles, but the Monster Truck Crushstation makes them look like crawdads.

There's some speculation as to whether a monster truck can qualify as a product mobile. But since Crushstation frequently promotes McLaughlin Seafood (and other sponsors) I'm willing to give it a pass. I'd be too scared not to.

Check out Crushstation doing what it does best (here's a hint: it involves crushing):

For more on Crushstation check out:

http://www.crushstation4x4.com/

"Not a Product Mobile" Part 7: The Colossal Colon

2011-03-09T14:40:00.000-08:00

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4
Part 5 - Part 6

It's time for the next installment of "Not a Product Mobile" which features things that aren't product mobiles and yet they're usually still big and interesting and they tour across the country.

This time it's "The Colossal Colon!"

Here's some video we shot a few years ago when "Coco" the Colossal Colon visited Dallas:

For more on the Colossal Colon visit:

http://www.colonclub.com/

New Nutmobile!

2011-02-27T09:46:00.000-08:00

There's a new Nutmobile on the road and this one is eco-friendly!
Planter's announced its new vehicle and tour recently and has been getting a lot of press:

...just to name a few. These are exciting times in the world of product mobiles and we'll be following news of this new vehicle closely. Can't wait to see it in person!

A Very Wienermobile Valentine's Day

2011-02-13T06:26:00.000-08:00

This year you can give your sweetie the greatest gift of all: A Wienermobile Valentine's Day Card:

You can download the printable PDF on the Hotdogger Blog.

Kissmobile in Bakersfield

2011-02-12T06:51:00.000-08:00

Here's a short news story from 2007 about the Kissmobile making an appearance in Bakersfield, CA:

Separated at Birth Part 5 - Just Shy of a Six Pack

2011-01-16T06:23:00.000-08:00

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4

We've seen some similar can cars before but today's batch, courtesy of Uncle Frank, gets us much closer to a six back than ever before.

These custom cans are came courtesy of Ron Wharton and of Automotive Innovations and include:

Budweiser
Bud Light
Labatt
And Stroh's Light

Thanks once again to Uncle Frank of The Hot Dog Hall of Fame for sending the pictures.

Can You Cut the Mustard?

2011-01-13T07:52:00.000-08:00

Oscar Mayer just announced on their Twitter Page that they are looking for the next group of Hotdoggers to drive the Wienermobile(s) across the country.

Here's what they said:

"The search is on for a new crew of Hotdoggers to get behind the wheel of the @Wienermobile! Send resumes to wmrequest@kraft.com by 1/31/11."

Good luck to all the applicants!

Brewhaha

2011-01-09T08:45:00.000-08:00

Uncle Frank strikes again!

Possibly inspired by our Deschutes Brewery "Woody' post, our pal Uncle Frank sent us a slew of beer and wine related product mobiles. So have your ID ready:

I don't have much information on any of these vehicles so if you do then please feel free to send it on.

And you can check out more of Uncle Frank's tomfoolery at The Hot Dog Hall of Fame.

Cory's Corner: Blizzard Mobile

2011-01-02T11:05:00.000-08:00

Apparently there's a guy who works at the Phoenix Fox affiliate named Cory. And apparently Cory has a regular segment called "Cory's Corner." I know what you're thinking, "Who cares?" right?

Well, apparently Corey did a segment on Corey's Corner about the Dairy Queen Blizzard Mobil e and therefore made himself and his segment relevant (at least to me). Here it is:

Tiger Attire

2010-12-28T07:07:00.000-08:00

Check out what Santa brought me:

Santa, or "eBay" as I like to call him, delivered a balanced breakfast of delicious duds in the form of this Tonymobile Tour jacket and shirt!

It's been far too long since the actual vehicle has toured but as soon as it does again this outfit will help me blend right in with the tour staff...and then wacky shenanigans will ensue! Looking forward to that.

This is actually the back of the shirt but since the front only has a small Tonymobile logo, this is the side that got photographed.

This is going to have to hold me until Tony and his pals hit the road again...or until I can find some matching cuff links.

Wienermobile Visits Edwards Air Force Base

2010-12-11T11:55:00.000-08:00

The Wienermobile recently made a holiday visit to Edwards Air Force Base:

Post-Thanksgiving Wrap Up Part 2

2010-11-27T05:13:00.001-08:00

Well, this is awkward. I was hoping to end the Thanksgiving wrap up with a little more content. I went through the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade video twice and the Planter's Nut Mobile was M.I.A. Maybe the new Mr. Peanut is too much of a big shot to show up.

Or more likely, NBC just didn't show him for whatever reason. We may never know. But guess who did show up:

All of the sudden Ronald McDonald's Big Red Shoe Car is everywhere.

There was also talk of some kind of "Snoopy's Dog House" vehicle but all I saw was a standard float. I know I've made allowances for floats before but after such a dismal turnout I'm in no mood to be generous.

Or am I? Since there are no other product mobile pictures to be had this Thanksgiving, here's a picture of the giant, creepy Ronald McDonald balloon that followed the Shoe Car:

And lest you think I'm a junk food shill, here are some more balanced McDonalds blog entries I did in the past:

McMansions - Clobbergate - Unhappy Meal

Post-Thanksgiving Wrap Up Part 1

2010-11-26T07:24:00.000-08:00

A shocking revelation occurred yesterday as I learned (between mouthfuls of turkeypotatoehampie) that Thanksgiving has room for more than one parade.

One Heimlich Maneuver later and I had my second shock as I learned that in addition to an appearance at the Macy's Parade, Ronald McDonald's Big Red Shoe Car also cruises the streets of Houston during the HEB Holiday Parade:

Photo Courtesy of KHOU

It must be really fast to be in both Texas and New York in the same day.

And yet a third shock occurred when when I learned of the existence of something called the Houston Chronicle Star Car which also made an appearance at the parade:

Image Copyright Serious Wheels

I'm assuming that this baby is meant to promote the Houston Chronicle and it looks like I have another new(?) product mobile to research.

I also need to go through my TIVOed Macy's Thanskgiving Day Parade to prepare for Part 2 of the Post-Thanksgiving Wrap Up. Tune in for that tomorrow.

Hyundai Football Car

2010-11-19T14:49:00.001-08:00

Apparently there are parts of the world where soccer isn't just a game for children. It's taken seriously enough to warrant a product mobile (or two).

These beauties were made by Hyundai to promote something called the "World Cup." Sounds cute.

Here's a video from the UK's Car Dealer Magazine about these sporty little numbers:

Old Friends Return For Thanksgiving

2010-11-14T06:57:00.001-08:00

Mr. Peanut's new makeover isn't keeping him from his regular gigs. The Planter's Nutmobile will be making its regular appearance at this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Our old pal Ronald McDonald and his regular entourage will also be making his yearly appearance at the beloved holiday event.

They are listed, as usual, with other "Specialty Units" and again, as usual, they seem to be the only product mobiles in the parade...or are they? Another "unit," listed toward the bottom caught my eye:
Snoopy's Dog House, huh? I searched for information but couldn't find any. Assuming it's some kind of vehicle, I imagine it might look something like this:

Is it promoting something (like any good product mobile should)? Chex Mix? Met Life? I guess we'll just have to tune in to find out.

Finally, a Beermobile!

2010-11-09T08:16:00.001-08:00

Because the people demanded it, we now live in world with a beer themed product mobile! (And yes, trailers count as product mobiles...according to me.)

So say hello to "Woody," ambassador of Deschutes Brewery and purveyor of refreshing libations. I feel happier just knowing it exists.

Woody's barrel exterior, giant taphandle, stereo system and disco ball show up wherever fun is need and is currently in the middle of the "In Search of Snow tour. I guess they're looking for snow or something.
Want to know if Woody is coming to a town near you? Here are its next few stops:

Boise State University Tailgate Party at the R Bar 
November 19
Boise, ID

The Civil War! U of O Ducks vs. OSU Beavers Tailgate Party 
(Location to be determined) 
December 4
Corvallis, OR

Cyclocross National Championships 
Deschutes Brewery (901 SW Simpson Ave.) 
December 10-13 
Bend, OR

If you are luck you might even get to see "Little Woody." (insert obvious double entendre here)
And you better hurry before a dinosaur drinks all the beer. Dinosaurs love beer!

For more info:

http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/

Happy Halloweenie!

2010-11-03T15:05:00.000-07:00

It's been kind of quiet here in Blogtown, U.S.A. so why don't we check in with the Wienermobile?

Halloween is still fresh in all our minds so let's all de-costume, kick back with a big pumpkin head full of candy and click the picture above to see how the Wienermobile celebrated the haunted holiday.

Veggie Mobile

2010-10-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

And here we have the mysterious Veggie Mobile:

I don't have a lot of information about this one. I just know if was made by WOW Promotional Vehicles, the makers of one of the Burger Cars and the Yoo-Hoo Trailer.

Three Car Pile Up

2010-10-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

I'm a semi-annual visitor to the great State Fair of Texas for many reasons. One of which is that it is a frequent stop for product mobiles like the Pepperidge Farms Goldfish Mobile which I saw there in 2002:
Unfortunately there were no product mobiles in attendance at this years fair but there were still some pretty famous rides. An exhibit within the Auto Show contained:
The Monkeemobile!
And "Black Beauty" from Green Hornet:

And best of all, the Batmobile!
(Not to be confused with the Onstar Batmobile)
Not a bad turnout at all. But hopefully next year some of our favorite product mobiles will return to the fair.

Wagon Wheels

2010-10-01T07:12:00.000-07:00

A retired couple became disheartened with the lack of new product mobiles (hey, just like me!) so they decided to take matter into their own hands. Awesome!

There should be more people like this in the world.

Separated at Birth Part 4 - A Pair of Skates

2010-09-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

Awhile back we introduced you to the Skateland USA Skate Car:
That one was located in Anderson, SC but I recently stumbled across a similar one in my own backyard:
The Aloha Skate Car lives outside the Westlake Skate Center in Mesquite, TX.
According to their MySpace Page it used to look like this:
Or it's possible that this picture is of a completely different car that they had in the past. It's interesting to not that this one has a top/cover so it could be driven in the rain.

How many of these Skate Cars exist? Is it possible that a fleet of these skates exist with a different one parked outside of every small time roller rink? Do people really still go roller skating? We may never know.

Blizzard Mobile Tour Wrap Up

2010-09-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

As summer comes to a close another Product Mobile Tour winds down. This time it's the end of the 25th Anniversary Blizzard Birthday Tour conducted by the Dairy Queen Blizzardmobile. Here are some highlights from the tour:

Hopefully, unlike so many other product mobiles that ended up in mothballs, the Blizzardmobile will one day ride again bring frosty treats to the masses.

Wiener Check

2010-09-11T12:37:00.000-07:00

Even the Wienermobile needs a check up from time to time. And no one considers the toll this takes on the poor Hotdoggers. Here's a look at the process:

Flipped Out Award Winner

2010-09-02T07:02:00.000-07:00

We've mentioned Ben & Jerry's Flipped Out Sample Vehicle (and its twin, the Topsy Turvy Bus) before, and recently the eight wheeled wonder rolled up and down across the EX Awards.
The Vehicle is the winner of the Best Vehicle Design (18 Wheels or less) in Event Marketers Magazine's EX Awards. Congrats to Ben & Jerry's and to Turtle Transit, the designers of the vehicle.

Hipster

2010-08-21T08:47:00.000-07:00

I'm still trying to piece this all together via the interwebs. From what I can gather, Kabaya is a Japanese candy company that makes cool weird Japanese candy like Green Tea Chocolate."Kaba" also seems to be Japanese for Hippo. So if your candy company was named after a Hippo and you wanted a promotional vehicle...well, you can see where this is going.

So the Kaba Car is a hippo shaped ambassador for the candy company. One of the first pictures I found of it is a bit of a downer:
This is the Kaba Car in front of the Hiroshima "Atomic Dome" which is the central area where the atomic bomb was dropped at the end of World War II. I'm not sure if this is meant to be ironic juxtaposition or if there is a cultural significance that is lost on the Western world.

A slightly cheerier picture is below:
I don't know if this vehicle is still touring but it is now officially on my radar in the way that only a bright red hippo car could be. For more wacky internet fun check out Kabaya's surreal website:

http://www.kabaya.co.jp

And what appears to be the car's web page:

http://www.kabaya.co.jp/kabacar

We'll leave you today with a fairly disturbing Kabaya commercial which may or may not include a cartoon hippo:

See the Zippo Car Next Month

2010-08-19T10:23:00.000-07:00

Flicking Fans will get a chance to see their favorite product mobile next month when the Zippo Car makes an appearance at the 2010 Case & Zippo Swap Meet South at Smoky Mountain Knife Works in Sevierville, Tennessee.
Here are the details from Zippo's website:

Smoky Mountain Knife Works and the National Knife Museum are hosting the 2010 Case & Zippo Swap Meet South at Smoky Mountain Knife Works retail showroom in Sevierville, Tennessee on September 24, 25 and 26.

Weekend-long activities include Case and Zippo collectors/dealers from across the country displaying their treasures under the tents, the traveling Case Event Trailer and the Zippo Car. There will also be one-of-a-kind Zippo and Case exhibits, raffles, and giveaways.

There will be limited edition Swap Meet products available at the event including a Smoky Mountain Knife Works Click Zippo lighter available on a first come, first served basis. Sale tables in the showroom will feature Case and Zippo red tag items.

More details, including registration and table reservation information, are available at http://www.eknifeworks.com/events/SWAP_MEET_SOUTH.html

Make Your Own Kissmobile

2010-08-18T11:55:00.000-07:00

It's still a little irritating that the Kissmobile is staying put at the Antique Auto Museum in Hershey, PA instead of traveling. Kissmobile fans have to take what they can get when they can get it.
(Picture courtesy of The Hershey Insider)

So it's no surprise that some people try to fill the kiss shaped void in their hearts any way they can. This is a video of the museum's "Make Your Own Kissmobile" activity from 2008 from WHP-CBS. It was a part of "Chocolate Covered February."

Now go grab some candy and a glue stick and get to work.

"Not a Product Mobile" Part 6: Mr. Softee Strikes Back

2010-08-17T09:08:00.000-07:00

The "Not a Product Mobile" Series Rolls On!

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

Most people are happy to see the Mister Softee Truck pull up because it brings sweet creamy goodness to a hot summer's day.
Recently, however, Mister Frostee brought a two scoops of pain, sprinkled with fists of fury and a cherry on top! And it was all directed at the deceptively named "Softy Cream Man." The two left their good humor at home and came to blows in the street over a disputed parking space.

A local ice cream enthusiast caught it all on tape:

Softy Ice Cream Man, you got soft served!

The Making of the Pfizer Revolution Mobile

2010-08-11T13:24:00.000-07:00

Found some more video that we just now got around to uploading to YouTube. This time it's the making of the Pfizer Revolution Mobile:

This is another clip from our 2003 documentary Fast Food.

Some Pig

2010-08-02T07:55:00.000-07:00

Nothing's better than a product mobile that that's functional. The people of Seattle know what I'm talking about since their streets are home to the Maximus/Minimus catering truck.
This little piggy serves up piled high pulled pork sandwiches to hungry patrons squealing with delight. It was designed by Seattle artist Colin Reedy and is known for its signature sandwich and home made barbeque sauce.
If you are in the area, keep an eye out for this saucy swine or track its movements on its website.
Special thanks to "Uncle Frank" from The Hot Dog Hall of Fame for the heads up on this one!

Friends WIth Benefits

2010-07-31T06:49:00.000-07:00

In an effort to cover every possible aspect of product mobiles ad nauseam, today we've got a look at an extra benefit of running into these wacky roadsters.

The tiny hoard of Little Debbie Cupcake Cars spread the word about the new product to cupcake enthusiasts and their tour culminated in a car giveaway sweepstakes. Those of us that didn't win one of the tiny rides weren't left empty handed however. We all got a coupon for a free box of cupcakes.
A run in with the Dairy Queen Blizzardmobile will not only get you a free Blizzard on the spot, but also a coupon for a discounted future treat.
If that little insight wasn't thrilling enough for you then stay tuned for our 12 part series on product mobile mudflaps!! (No, we're not running out of material... Surely not...)

My Left Foot

2010-07-27T15:31:00.000-07:00

Both the right and left versions of the Lincoln Toe Trucks are well known landmarks in the Seattle area and like any great icons they are accessible for the city's visitors.According to the Seattle Times the "Left Toe" is on permanent display at the Seattle Museum of History & Industry while the "Right Toe" is parked at the Lincoln Towing Yard when not making parade appearances.
The vehicles are the work of Ed Lincoln, the former owner of Lincoln Towing. The "Left Toe" is the original, dating back to 1980 and the "Right Toe" was created in 1996 to complete the set.
For more information:

http://www.seattlehistory.org/

Photos courtesy of The Seattle Times:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/

Wiener Double Feature!

2010-07-16T07:16:00.000-07:00

There's nothing worse than a dirty wiener:

If that rigorous wiener washing wasn't enough for you we have another video. Awhile back we reported on a visit by the Hershey's Kissmobile to the Charm City Bakery (as seen on Food Network's "Ace of Cakes"). It looks like the Wienermobile paid them a visit as well:
The hottdoggers came bearing gifts in the form of a wiener-cake!

And the legendary Wienermobile rolls on to its next adventure...

This Little Piggy

2010-07-12T07:33:00.000-07:00

Competition can be fierce in the student recruiting game. What's a university to do if it wants to stand out?Well nothing is quite so attention grabbing as a bright red ride that's part bug, part razaorback and all product mobile. Meet the University of Arkansas' Razorbug!

What started as an average, everyday Volkswagen Bug has been transformed into an ambassador for the university.
More transformation pictures can be seen HERE.

According to the universities website:

"The Razorbug's primary mission is to assist the Office of Admissions in efforts to attract qualified students to the University of Arkansas. In addition, the Razorbug will be available on a limited basis to make public appearances. Appearances will be limited to events which benefit the creation of need-based scholarships for students attending the University of Arkansas."
Arkansas may be the Bug's home base but like any good product mobile it frequently hits the highways to spread the recruitment word. Here we can see it visit the world famous Carhenge in Nebraska:
You can see it in action yourself:

Check out the Razorbug's website for more info:

http://razorbug.uark.edu/

Live Sighting: The DQ Blizzardmobile!

2010-07-06T08:43:00.001-07:00

It was a scorching hot summer day when the Dairy Queen Blizzardmobile rolled in like a cool breeze to deliver frozen treats and celebrate a birthday in style.
It's been way too long since I've seen a product mobile in person so when I first heard about the construction and summer tour of the Blizzardmobile I knew I had to track in down when it came to town.
The tour is to celebrate the 25th anniversary of DQ's signature frozen treat the "Blizzard." When I got there the party had already started and a crowd was lined up to get a free Oreo Mini Blizzard.
Like most good tours there is a charity aspect. The Blizzardmobile is raising money for the Children's Miracle Network.
So money was raised, songs were sang and large quantities of ice cream were consumed. You can't ask for a better outcome than that.
And when it was done it rolled away to its next stop. Thanks for the smile, Blizzardmobile. Have a drink on me.

Comparing Wieners

2010-07-04T06:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Fourth of July! I can think of nothing more American than eating hot dogs and comparing sizes.

Here's a pic from a recent post on the Hotdogger Blog showing Wienermobiles of all sizes:
Bonus Pic!

In keeping with our hot dog theme, no Fourth of July celebration is complete without a big bag of hot dog flavored potato chips!

Coming soon: Pictures from my recent run in with the Dairy Queen Blizzardmobile!

Have You Seen This Chicken?

2010-06-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

I recently spotted a new(?) product mobile on the "You Drive What?" blog.
I don't know any details about it but it seems to be promoting the White Feather Country Store in Ontario. As always, if you have any details please send them on.

Good Eggs

2010-06-17T07:26:00.000-07:00

In the past we've seen toy recreations of the Wienermobile, Spammobile, Kellogg's Tonymobile and even the Eckridge Fun House. Now it's the Cadbury Creme Egg's turn:

These collectibles, and others like them, pop up on eBay from time to time so if you've ever wanted you very own pocket sized egg car you might just be in luck.

I Like the Way You Moooove

2010-06-05T16:40:00.001-07:00

With claims of being both "Cowrageous" and "Udderly Cool," the World Famous Cow Limo is Ohio's top transportation choice for special events.
The limo's special featues seem to revolve around the bodily functions of "Helga" the cow and include:

Spraying up to 40 gallons of milk (actually water) from her udder
Pooping brown golf balls
Farting smoke

Clearly this vehicle is in high demand for only the fanciest of fancy schmancy affairs.

Riding in style is only a click away. Check out the limo's website and book it for your next farm fête:

http://www.rentcowlimo.com/

Ride Shotbun in the Wienermobile

2010-06-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

It turns out that money CAN buy happiness:
If you've never been lucky enough to have the Wienermobile come to your town then now is your chance to make it happen...for the right price.

As a part of the Good Mood Mission, Oscar Mayer is auctioning off a day's worth of Wienermobile rides to the highest bidder. You can place your bid on eBay.

Summer Forecast: Chance of Blizzard? 100%

2010-05-25T13:24:00.000-07:00

The Dairy Queen Blizzardmobile continues its summer tour celebrating the frozen treat's 25th birthday. Here is a news story about its recent stop in Chicago:

Modern Family's Ty Burrell Tours the Weinermobile

2010-05-13T13:31:00.001-07:00

Actor Ty Burrell (Modern Family) is teaming up with the Wienermobile to help promote Oscar Mayer's Good Mood Mission. He was interviewed about it this morning on Good Morning Texas.

To learn how you can win a ride in the Wienermobile or how to help feed the hungry, check out the Good Mood Mission website.

The clip is courtesy WFAA, the Dallas ABC affiliate.

Ronald McDonald Shoe Car Steps Up For Parade Appearance

2010-05-04T10:07:00.000-07:00

The Ronald McDonald Big Red Shoe Car recently made an appearance at the Fourth Annual 82 Ave. of Roses Parade in East Portland, OR.Picture Courtesy of East PDX News

You can see from the picture of the 2009 parade appearance that this is a different version of the Shoe Car than we've seen before or that we usually see in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Maybe this is the West Coast version? More investigation is obviously necessary.

Bowled Over

2010-04-26T08:53:00.001-07:00

Not too long ago it wouldn't be uncommon for you to see a giant bowl of chicken and potatoes being chauffeured down the street.

KFC (or Kentucky Fried Chicken for the non-acronym crowd) wanted to promote their line of "Bowls" (containing fried chicken, potatoes, gravy and cheese all in one handy, heart stopping container) so they decided to construct a giant version of the southern fried concoction and send it on tour.

Below is an article from GoMobile Advertising's newsletter about the tour and the vehicle's features:

The mysterious bowl even garnered enough attention to become a news story on Seattle's KOMO Channel 4:

More on the Promotion Exhibit

2010-04-13T07:06:00.001-07:00

James Hale, author of "The Wonderful Wacky World of MarketingMobiles – Promotional Vehicles of the World" has sent us some more pictures from the Promotion Exhibit at the National Motor Museum in England.

The Bird's Eye Pea Car:

The Bushy's Beer Bottle:

The Cadbury Creme Egg Car:
The exhibit runs until March 2011, can be seen as part of a visit to the whole Beaulieu attraction. For more information telephone 01590 612345 or visit www.beaulieu.co.uk

The Blizzard of Ahs

2010-04-11T05:48:00.000-07:00

Even though Summer is right around the corner you can expect a blizzard to come to your town.

Dairy Queen recently announced that to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their frozen treat the "Blizzard" they will conduct a 25 city tour of the new Blizzardmobile!

Below is a behind the scenes video of the making of the newest product mobile on the road:

To see when the Blizzardmobile is coming to your town check out their Facebook Page.

Meinhardt Raabe, the Original "Little Oscar" Dies at 94

2010-04-10T07:30:00.000-07:00

Meinhardt Raabe, best known as the Munchkin coroner in the film "The Wizard of Oz" has passed away at the age of 94.(Photo Courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society)

Raabe was also known as the first "Little Oscar"and traveled with the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile for years.

Click here for his NY Times Obituary.

'"ProMotion" Exhibit Opens in the UK

2010-03-30T16:37:00.000-07:00

The National Motor Museum’s latest exhibition, ‘ProMotion’, was unveiled on Friday (March 26th) by Lord Montagu’s son, the Hon Ralph Montagu. The exhibition showcases a number of vehicles that illustrate the imaginative and fun techniques companies have used to promote their products over the years. The exhibit features European product mobiles like the Worthing Bottle Delivery Tuck, The Cadbury Crème Egg Car and the Outspan Orange.
Accompanying the exhibition, a video wall presentation features images of promotional vehicles of the past as well as footage of the Cadbury Crème Egg car during construction.

‘ProMotion’, which runs until March 2011, can be seen as part of a visit to the whole Beaulieu attraction. For more information telephone 01590 612345 or visit www.beaulieu.co.uk

More pictures coming soon!

Wisconsinites Relish the Wienermobile

2010-03-22T07:58:00.000-07:00

The Wisconsin Rapids Tribune recently posted an article about a successful stop by the the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. Click HERE to read it.
If you are in the Wisconsin Rapids, WI area you can see the Wienermobile today at Copps Food Center, 900 E. Riverview Expressway from 10 AM to 4 PM today.

Mr. Peanut Hits the Road Again!

2010-03-18T07:32:00.001-07:00

Celebrity "spokesnut" Mr. Peanut has made an announcement via his Facebook page:

"Mr. Peanut is happy to announce that Planters is the official Nut of the NCAA®. I will be taking the Nut Mobile on the Road to the Final Four® starting this weekend! Make sure you Become a Fan to get my updates from the road, and for prizes and savings."Looks like he's made his first stop at Xavier University. Upcoming stops will be:

March 19 & 21 - HSBC Arena in Buffalo, NY
March 25 & 27 - at Syracuse University
April 3 & 5 at (or near) Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN

Meet Mr. Peanut, see the Nut Mobile, enjoy some free samples and get caught up in March Madness!

Roller Roadster

2010-03-17T08:03:00.000-07:00

Skateland USA, the coolest roller rink in Anderson, SC, has a suped up skate that can be driven around town to promote their party palace.

The pictures are courtesy of Skateland USA's Myspace page.

Tour Caravan

2010-03-13T16:37:00.000-08:00

I'm still researching just what exactly the heck this thing is but it seems to be called the "Tour Caravan." It looks like a parade of European product mobiles that may or may not have something to do with the Tour de France.

These pictures are courtesy of PezCycling News and you can see several more on their site.

The United States of Spamerica

2010-03-08T07:08:00.000-08:00

Below is an article from Parade Magazine from several years ago. It's a "Hometown Spotlight" that features Austin, MN and it's relationship to the Hormel corporation.Austin, or SPAMTown, USA as it's called in the article, is home to the Spam Museum but this article also features a brief appearance by the SpamMobile:

Awhile back we reported that the former SpamMobile was for sale. I'm not sure if it sold or not but the ad page has been taken down. So if you see a giant blue can without a label driving down the highway please let me know.

A Chicken in Every Pothole

2010-03-03T09:06:00.000-08:00

Gold'n Plump Poultry wants you to know about their chicken. So much so that their mascot "Cooper" straddles a one ton cargo van in order to crow about the company.

Based in Minnesota, Gold'n Plump sends the 11 foot tall, 7 foot wide, 17 foot long Chik'n Cruiser to various events, usually with a mobile kitchen in tow, to give out samples and instigate impromptu chicken dances.

The Cruiser is currently cooped up in the garage but will hopefully cross the roads again in the near future. Until then you can check out some video of Cooper spreading his wings on the highways:

More info on the Gold'n plump website:

http://www.goldnplump.com/

Pring It On

2010-03-02T07:42:00.000-08:00

A few years ago kids on spring break got to party with the Pringlesmobile. The touring vehicle had a thirty foot Pringles can and hosted the "Mr. Pringles' Posse Casting Call" which was a dance contest that cast only the crispiest kids in a chip commercial.
Dreams came true that summer and another product mobile drove off into the sunset. Below is a short video about the vehicle:

The Pringlesmobile was created by Craftsmen Industries Inc.

Right Click

2010-03-01T10:29:00.000-08:00

Click below for a 2004 article about the Zippo Car from JDNews.com:

Zippo Car picture courtesy of Paul Perkins.

Protoype Source Video

2010-02-12T07:07:00.000-08:00

Here is a promotional video that explains some behind the scenes information about Prototype Source, the makers of some of your favorite product mobiles:

You can get more information from their website:

http://www.prototypesource.com/

Oscar Mayer Recruiting Hotdoggers Today!

2010-02-09T11:03:00.000-08:00

If you are a student at the University of Missouri then today is your chance to get a shot at being an Oscar Mayer Hotdogger!According to the campus newspaper, The Maneater," Oscar Mayer is holding an "informal session" about the position today at 5:30 in Gannet Hall on campus.

Click below to read the article:
Good luck to everyone that tries out!

Cheesy Does It

2010-02-07T09:30:00.000-08:00

Not too long ago we introduced you to the Cheese Car and the contest surrounding it. Roger from Oklahoma won the contest and the car and we asked him a few questions about the thrilling taste of victory.FF: How did you go about entering to win the Cheese Car?

Roger: I was surfing the internet and seen the add to win a car, but I had already clicked to go to a different page, so I went back, but the banner had changed, so I searched for the put cheese on and after a couple tries I came across the web site. I read the rules and decided to cut holes out of the center of 2 slices of American cheese and put them on my face like glasses. Well needless to say when I told my wife to grab the camera to take the pic she just shook her head and took the pic. Now I'm really glad I did.
FF: How did you feel when you won?

R: I read the email a half a dozen times to be sure it said I actually won the car, each time I read it the more my hands started shaking then I swear I thought I was going to have the BIG ONE.

FF: What's the most surprising thing about owning the Cheese Car?

R: Winning it was the most surprising thing, but the car is actually better equiped than I had thought, it really is a great car to drive.

FF: Do you get any interesting reactions when you drive it?

R: We have had so much fun driving this car, wherever we go people are always taking pictures, even when were going 70 down the highway, we came out of Sams and there were a bunch of kids lined up next to it taken pics acting like there eating the cheese. my family can't wait to ride in it in parades with us. It's really nice to see people smile and laugh at the car so maybe for just a few minutes they forget about any troubles they may be having in this economic times.
FF: What are your future plans for the car?

R: Keep it cheesy, as long as the graphics hold out, thought about contacting milk or other dairy companies to place adds on the car, just not sure how to do that, drive in local parades and toss out cheese samples or gummi cheeseburgers. anyway it will be kept this way as long as I own it.

For more on the car and the contest you can go to:

http://www.putsomecheeseonit.com/

Tail Wagon

2010-02-04T08:31:00.000-08:00

Fido has his favorite product mobile too, yoo know.Turtle Transit brings us another animal themed product mobile with the recent (2009) Waggin' Train promo vehicle.
While at first glance it brings to mind the mysterious and elusive Pace Picante Sauce Covered Wagon, it also shares some traits with the Meow Mix Mobile. Both promote pet food and both gave away free samples for our four legged friends.
The Waggin' Wagon has appeared at rodeos, music festivals and other events promoting the Waggin' Train brand of healthy dog treats and will hopefully mosey on into your neighborhood with a fistful of vittles for your best friend.

The pictures are property of Turtle Transit:

http://www.turtletransit.com/

Magnetic

2010-02-02T08:37:00.000-08:00

I've mentioned before that not all product mobiles get a marketing push on the same scale as the Wienermobile. So finding tie-in merchandise for your favorite, somewhat obscure product mobile can be challenging.

Case in point: Finding this Kellogg's Tonymobile refrigerator magnet on the internet recently was a pleasant surprise: The small collectible popped up on eBay recently and is one of the few examples of Tonymobile merchandise I've ever seen.

Is this the start of a Tonymobile resurgence? Will the American populace be whipped into such of frenzy over the discovery of this four inch masterpiece that they demand that the vehicle return to the road? I like to think so. But I'm usually wrong about stuff like this.

Con Queso

2010-01-28T14:02:00.000-08:00

Question: Would you like cheese on that?

Answer: Yes
Recently the Midwest Dairy Association introduced us to the Put Some Cheese On It! campaign which included recipes, a photo contest and a tour by the Cheese Car across three states (Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma).

One lucky cheese lover even won the car at the end of the tour.
The car promoted "the awesomeness of cheese" and visited one of my favorite Oklahoman roadside attractions: The Golden Driller in Tulsa.

So if you see it on the highway some day don't forget to wave and say cheese!

Kissmobile: Staying Put

2010-01-27T06:56:00.000-08:00

Last year we posted that the Automobile Club of America Museum in Hershey, PA had the Hershey Kissmobile schedule to be on display through January of 2010.(Picture courtesy of The Hershey Insider)

The museum recently updated their site and now the Kissmobile is on tap to be displayed throughout 2010. You can see the museum's Kissmobile page HERE.

Last year the Kissmobile left the museum briefly to make an appearance at the 2009 Pennsylvania Auto & Boat Show (picture courtesy of Castellum Realty):
Unfortunately it has been confirmed that the Kissmobile will not be making an appearance at this year's show which happens this weekend. More information on the show HERE.

So if you want to see the Kissmobile this year you'll need to plan a trip to Pennsylvania.

Wild Game On

2010-01-26T06:31:00.000-08:00

What's better than having someone bring pizza to your house? How about a special delivery from your favorite ungulate? (Google it if you need to)The delivery vehicles for Moosejaw Pizza & Dells Brewing Co. and Buffalo Phil's Pizza & Grille in Wisconsin Dells, WI have special toppings of their own. Your favorite pie comes home via your range roving pals the Moose and the Buffalo.
Let's see the Wienermobile try and do that! Check out their websites:

http://www.dellsmoosejaw.com/

http://www.buffalophilsgrille.com/

Wienermobile Dance Party

2010-01-24T06:59:00.000-08:00

The Oscar Mayer Good Mood Mission rolls on with a recent impromptu dance number with the Hotdoggers and the USC Trojan Marching Band at the Grove in Los Angeles.

The dance ends with three Wienermobiles forming a giant smile:

Mox-Cart

2010-01-23T07:42:00.000-08:00

Who loves Moxie? Who has actually heard of Moxie?Well for the unMoxified, Moxie is a an old school soda mainly found in New England. Over the years they've dipped their toe in the "product mobile pool" with horse themed vehicles like a horse-cycle:
And a fleet of Moxie Horsemobiles:
Newer versions have popped up over the years:
With the latest, from around 2000, still making appearances in parades and others evets.
So now we can all run to our local markets and demand that they carry our new favorite soda and we can all keep an eye out for our new favorite product mobile.

Images courtesy of :

http://www.moxie.info/

Moo-ving Van

2010-01-19T07:03:00.000-08:00

There are two kinds of people in the world: those that look cool wearing leather and the rest of us. And the coolest leather lovers probably shop for their tanned hides and tasseled tops at a cool store like "Jamin' Leather" in Surfside Beach, SC.

What makes this store so cool? Why, they use a product mobile to advertise, of course: Outside the store's location (and making appearances at various events) sits the "Jamin' Leather Cow Van." I don't know if that is its official name but that's what I'm calling it.
Here's the store's website if you ever find yourself in need of a tasteful pair of hot pink assless chaps:

http://www.jaminleather.net/

Cadbury Cream Egg Car Video

2010-01-18T07:27:00.000-08:00

Here's a short video of the Cadbury Cream Egg Car in action as it is being test driven by someone or something called "The Stig":

Wienermobile to Participate in Huge New Promotion

2010-01-15T11:02:00.000-08:00

Oscar Mayer recently announced its largest advertising campaign in its 125-year history: "It Doesn't Get Better Than This" and the Wienermobile will be an active part of it.From Oscar Mayer's press release:

The launch of the new advertising campaign will coincide with a nine-month charity effort called the Oscar Mayer Good Mood Mission. The Good Mood Mission will rally America to come together around good food, creating good moods in support of a good cause. The brand will kick off the campaign with a 1 million pound food donation and ask America to help match that at www.GoodMoodMission.com.

For every good mood America creates or shares, the brand will donate more food to reach the total goal of 2 million pounds. The Wienermobile vehicles will support the mission as they criss-cross the country spreading miles of smiles and engaging the nation to do the same with a simple click.
Five digital “missions” will be introduced between January and September, beginning with an “It doesn’t get better than____” mission for launch, followed by four other missions tied to specific Oscar Mayer products. For each mission, the public is invited to create a good mood moment and share with friends and family. The moments will live on an animated, visual gallery to deliver smiles throughout the campaign. For bacon, we’ll ask people what motivates them to get out of bed in the morning; and for hot dogs, we’ll find out what people are willing to do to ride Shotbun in the Wienermobile vehicle, plus many more.

The Good Mood Mission campaign will be supported via an integrated marketing campaign that includes:

the one-time, 30-second “anthem” spot of feel-good moments and charity call-to-action to be televised on the Golden Globe Awards on January 17;
a Yahoo home page takeover on January 19. MSN will also support the program via content integration and editorial sponsorships throughout the campaign;
a kick-off event in Los Angeles on January 19with a giant Good Mood Moment, featuring a celebrity Good Mood Ambassador and a Wienermobile vehicle Flash Mob featuring members of the USC Trojans Marching Band;
a dedicated fan page at www.Facebook.com/OscarMayer and Twitter handle, @OscarMayer that will launch on January 19;
a coast-to-coast local market tour with Wienermobile vehicle visits throughout the year; and
a robust public relations effort within social and traditional media.

For more about the Oscar Mayer brand or the Good Mood Mission, visit www.OscarMayer.com www.GoodMoodMission.com or:

http://www.kraftbrands.com/goodmoodmission/#/section/hotdogger

Homemade Product Mobiles

2010-01-11T06:51:00.000-08:00

Not content to sit back and wait for their favorite product mobiles to come to them, some artistic fans have taken matters into their own hands and crafted their own.

From the people that brought you the "People of Wal-Mart" blog comes "You Drive What?" which chronicles some examples of the weird and wacky ways that people customize their cars. Many of these wild rides pay homage to some of our favorite products. Here are a few examples:

You can see more on the blog:

http://www.youdrivewhat.com/

"Not a Product Mobile" Part 5: Portrait of America Road Tour

2010-01-10T05:59:00.001-08:00

We're back from our holiday hiatus with yet another entry in the "Not a Product Mobile" series. Check out the previous entries:

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4

So it's time for another government sponsored head count. The Census Bureau is utilizing mobile marketing concepts to get the word out via the 2010 Census Portrait of America Tour. Here are some of the custom wrapped vehicles that will be coming to your neighborhood:

Interactive exhibits and a NASCAR tie-in are being used promote the census. Here's a video that shows more:

You can get more information from the Tour's blog:

http://blogs.census.gov/roadtour/

Update: SpamMobile Still For Sale

2009-12-13T06:59:00.000-08:00

Not too long ago we mentioned that the SpamMobile had popped up for sale on eBay. It looks like it didn't sell and now another online ad has hit the web for the now naked can.
You can check out some pics of its new found nakedness:

And if you've got the urge to travel the country cooking up free Spamples, the privilege can be yours for a mere $35,000. Click HERE for the new online ad.

Mini-Wienermobile - A Sign of the Times?

2009-12-08T09:35:00.000-08:00

Oscar Mayer's Mini-Wienermobile has been on the road for awhile now. The smaller, more fuel efficient speedy wienie has become a frank sign of the times and a symbol of a still recovering economy.

So much so that the Jan. 09 issue of Car and Driver Magazine used it to illustrate one of their articles: Though small in size, the Mini-Wienermobile still seems to draw big crowds. You can see more of the cocktail car in this video:

Thanksgiving Feast

2009-11-27T05:05:00.000-08:00

If you induced your turkey coma a little early yesterday you might have missed out on a couple of annual product mobile sightings. Everyone's favorite burger flipping clown and monocled nut made their regular Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade appearances.

First up is Ronald McDonald's Big Red Shoe Car:Unfortunately the Grimace was noticeably absent, marring an otherwise successful parade appearance.

Next is the Planter's Nutmobile (a.k.a. Mr. Peanut's hot rod) desperately trying to escape from Dr. Seuss' Horton:

Mr. Peanut's head turns from left to right so he can always get a good look at you with his good eye.

And so another successful Thanksgiving parade winds down. (By the way, there were also floats, dance numbers, balloons and any number of other parade nonsense but, of course, the product mobiles were the best part.)

The images are property of NBC.

Shout Out to My Peeps

2009-11-22T07:48:00.000-08:00

A few years back we shout footage of the Peeps Fun Bus. It didn't end up making it into our documentary but now we've edited for your sugary enjoyment:

Mr. Peanut & Ronald McDonald Prepare for Thanksgiving Parade

2009-11-17T13:02:00.001-08:00

It looks like Macy's has confirmed appearances by both the Planter's Nutmobile and Ronald McDonald's Big Red Shoe Car at this year's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Picture courtesy of TDLPhoto

This isn't exactly ground breaking news since they are both Thanksgiving Parade veterans and have appeared for the last several years. But it's always good to see some product mobile representation.

Here are their descriptions from the Macy's press release:

Hopefully in the future the parade (and all parades) will be bumper to bumper with Wienermobiles, Spammobiles and all our other favorites.