Every summer between Memorial Day and Labor Day Americans consume 7 billion hot dogs. So we set out to get Americans talking on Labor Day, the last moment to win in hot dogs. Our primary KPI was earned attention, so we had to cut through the end of summer clutter and become part of our consumer's world. We found an authentic cultural moment to amplify, and ultimately explode conversation on social media. The intended effect of this attention was to drive increased sales during the campaign period.

For centuries, we’ve all agreed that hot dogs should be served and eaten on a bun. But rules are made to be broken… introducing the Oscar Mayer Hot Dog Straw.

Oscar Mayer is a culturally iconic, wonderfully odd brand that has permission to do things other brands can’t… or won’t. From the original Wienermobile to famous jingles to even wiener whistles, Oscar is known for creating entertaining cultural artifacts that move people toward the brand rather than just making advertising that sells to them. Embracing the most viral hot dog video of all time, Oscar Mayer recognized its genius and brought it to life - for real: creating the first hot dog straw* designed strictly for sipping.

Our audience -- everyone who enjoys hot dogs during summer -- often goes on autopilot with plenty of rules around how to top & cook them. As originators of the Wienermobile and Cold Dog, it was natural that Oscar Mayer debuts a hot take as wonderfully odd as our brand.

Using social listening, we found a viral 2022 summer hot dog video that challenged the basic assumption: that they are meant to be eaten. It showed the unthinkable – using a hot dog as a straw to drink beer. You either loved or hated it, but it couldn’t be ignored.

We gave credit where it was due: to New York Nico. By partnering with the originator and bringing his vision to the masses, perfectly timed to the one year anniversary of the viral moment, we could unlock PR genius.

We saw the genius in the original idea and wanted to bring it to people - for real.

Ahead of the viral video's 1 year anniversary, Oscar Mayer partnered with New York Nico to create the viral hot dog straw, a synthetic hot dog straw inspired by Oscar Mayer’s glizzies as a social stunt and giveaway.

We matched the look & feel down to the talent’s wardrobe, created 1,000 straws and gave them away for free over a five day period. On Social, New York Nico and Oscar Mayer promoted this wonderfully odd collaboration. We also drove people to a microsite where they could pre-order the straw and from 8/22 - 8/26, we released a limited quantity of 200 straws for free, first come first serve. We got publications involved across beats and mediums, from food-centric news to feel-good viral beat reporters, including sports press, a first for Oscar Mayer.

- On launch night, the initial release of hot dog straws were gone in 9 minutes

- Goal: 150 Million Impressions - Earned: 850 Million earned impressions

- Goal 50 - 75 earned media placements - Earned over 1100 earned media placements

- Media coverage included: USA Today, TODAY, CNBC, Food & Wine, People, Complex, HYPEBEAST, Ad Age, MLB TV and more.

- Drew Barrymore, Mario Lopez & Steven Colbert showcased the straw on their shows

- Local broadcast segments across the nation reported the news, with some quite literally laughing their way through segments

- Not only did our Labor Day $ share grow +0.2pts versus year ago (16.4% versus 16.26%)...Our $ share was largest of any key summer holiday shopping window 


- We also saw an astounding: 


+24% in volume sales versus the week prior


+26% velocity sales growth versus the week prior


- Increased repeat usage for the 2 weeks following: (+3.6pts) and (+5.6pt) compared to the week following launch