Wienermobile Visits Southampton

Shoppers at the Upper Southampton were greeted with a strange sight Thursday afternoon - the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.

The 27-foot-long orange-and-yellow hot dog shaped vehicle sat outside the food market, while “Hotdoggers” Dylan Hackbarth and Kylie Hodges passed out coupons and Oscar Mayer swag.

Hackbarth and Hodges, along with five other two person Wienermobile teams, travel the roads of America visiting towns and spreading the Oscar Mayer brand.

“It’s a really great way to see the country,” said Hodges.

The two Wisconsin natives, both recent college graduates, applied for the position of hotdogger. Hackbarth and Hodges had to compete against thousands of other applicants to get the year-long job.

When not promoting the Oscar Mayer brand, Hackbarth and Hodges either stop at a nearby hotel to sleep or go visit local attractions.

“Yesterday, we got to play tourist in Philadelphia,” Hodges said.

The two hotdoggers mentioned they are proud to be traveling in the Wienermobile due to the fact that 2011 marks its 75th birthday. The Wienermobile, which was the idea of a member of Oscar Mayer’s family, has been a fixture in America culture ever since it hit the road in the late 1930s.

Both Hackbarth and Hodges said, driving the Wienermobile is not much different than driving an SUV. But then again, most SUVs are not shaped like a giant frankfurter.

“When you’re driving the Wienermobile, everyone is pointing and smiling and you just feel like a piece of meat,” Hodges said with a giggle.

Today, the Wienermobile will be parked at the Giant on York Road in Willow Grove.

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