Oscar Mayer
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
and cold cut
Cold cut
Cold cuts are cheeses or precooked or cured meat, often sausages or meat loaves, that are sliced and usually served cold on sandwiches or on party trays. They can be bought pre-sliced in vacuum packs at a supermarket or grocery store, or they can be purchased at a delicatessen or deli counter,...
production company, owned by Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
, known for its hot dog
Hot dog
A hot dog is a sausage served in a sliced bun. It is very often garnished with mustard, ketchup, onions, mayonnaise, relish and/or sauerkraut.-History:...
s, bologna
Bologna sausage
Bologna sausage is an American sausage derived from and definitely not similar to the Italian mortadella . It is commonly called boloney, baloney or, more formally, bologna...
, bacon
Bacon
Bacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...
and Lunchables
Lunchables
Lunchables are a line of instant children's meals manufactured by Kraft Foods, Inc. They are marketed under the Oscar Mayer brand in the United States and Dairylea in the United Kingdom. Many Lunchables products are produced at Kraft Foods, Inc.'s Fullerton factory in Fullerton, California, and are...
products.
History
GermanGermans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
immigrant Oscar F. Mayer
Oscar F. Mayer
Oscar Ferdinand Mayer was a German American who founded the processed-meat firm Oscar Mayer that bears his name....
(March 29, 1859 in Kösingen, near Neresheim
Neresheim
Neresheim is a town in the Ostalbkreis district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated northeast of Heidenheim, and southeast of Aalen....
, Württemberg – March 11, 1955) began working at a meat market in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, 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
Bratwurst
A bratwurst is a sausage usually composed of veal, pork or beef. The plural in German is Bratwürste....
, liverwurst
Liverwurst
The German , that translates literally as "liver sausage," is the typical sausage served in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden and Romania . Liverwurst normally contains pigs' livers, rather than calves' livers and also contains veal...
, and weißwurst
Weißwurst
Weisswurst is a traditional Bavarian sausage made from very finely minced veal and fresh pork bacon. It is usually flavoured with parsley, lemon, mace, onions, ginger and cardamom, though there are some variations...
and were popular in the predominantly German neighborhoods of Chicago around the market.
As the meat market's popularity grew, it expanded its storefront and sponsored local events including the Chicago World's Fair
Chicago World's Fair
Chicago World's Fair may refer to:*World's Columbian Exposition of 1893*Century of Progress Exposition of 1933...
in 1893. 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
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
) for testing the purity of their products.
Oscar Mayer is also famous for their Wienermobile
Wienermobile
A "Wienermobile" is an automobile shaped like a hot dog on a bun that is used to promote and advertise Oscar Mayer products. It was created in 1936 by Oscar's nephew, Carl G. Mayer, and variants are still used by Oscar Mayer today. In 2004, Oscar Mayer announced a contest whereby customers could...
, 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
Oscar G. Mayer, Jr.
Oscar Gustave Mayer was an American business executive who served as chairman of the Oscar Mayer meat and cold cut production company headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, the third Oscar Mayer to lead the family business, following his grandfather, company founder, Oscar F. Mayer, who died in...
, 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
Funky Cold Medina
"Funky Cold Medina" is a hip hop song written by Young MC, Michael L. Ross and Matt Dike, and first performed by Tone Lōc. It was the second single from Lōc's debut album Lōc-ed After Dark . The single was released on March 18, 1989, and rose to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 the following month...
performed by Tone Lōc
Tone Lōc
Anthony Terrell Smith , better known by his stage name Tone Lōc, is an American rapper and actor.-Early life and career:...
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. On July 6, 2009, Oscar G. Mayer died of old age at 95 in Hospice Care in Fitchburg, Wisconsin
Fitchburg, Wisconsin
Fitchburg is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 25,260 at the 2010 census. Fitchburg is a suburb of Madison and is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
.
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 commercialTelevision advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
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.
The advertisement itself has received several million views on various video sharing sites such as YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, GetBack, and others, as well as being featured on YahooMusic
Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music, owned by Yahoo!, is the provider of a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming...
in March 2009.