Oscar Mayer
The Oscar Mayer Company is an American meat and cold cut production company, owned by Kraft Foods, known for its hot dogs, bologna, bacon and Lunchables products.
Contents |
[edit] History
German immigrant Oscar F. Mayer (1859–1955) began working at a meat market in Detroit, Michigan, 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, liverwurst, and weißwurst and were popular in the predominantly German neighborhoods of Chicago around the market.[1]
As the meat market's popularity grew, it expanded its storefront and sponsored local events including the Chicago World's Fair in 1893.[citation needed] 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. Early company specialties were “Old World” sausages and Westphalian hams, soon followed by bacon and wieners. The company’s concern for quality was so strong that in 1906, Oscar Mayer & Co. was among the first to volunteer to join the newly created federal meat inspection program. In 1919, the company made its first major expansion, with the purchase of a processing plant in Madison, Wisconsin. The plant quickly proved to be a profitable, efficient operation and eventually Madison became the corporate headquarters.
For nearly a century, Oscar Mayer remained an independent company owned primarily by descendants of the Mayer brothers who started it all. Then in 1981, Oscar Mayer stockholders elected to sell their company to General Foods Corporation, which had the resources to stimulate even further growth for the business. Four years later, Philip Morris Companies, Inc. acquired General Foods Corporation, and in 1989 merged General Foods with the newly acquired Kraft, Inc.
Shares of Kraft foods were first offered to the public via an initial public offering in 2001. Altria Group (formerly Philip Morris & Companies) spun off remaining shares of Kraft Foods to Altria shareholders in 2007. April 2, 2007 marked the first day that Kraft's first day trading as an independent company on the New York Stock Exchange.
Oscar Mayer is also famous for their Wienermobile, which has toured the United States for over 70 years. The first Wienermobile was created in 1936, and nine have since been built.
Oscar Gustave Mayer, 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 performed by Tone Lōc 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.[2][3] On July 6, 2009, Oscar G. Mayer died of old age at 95 in Hospice Care in Fitchburg, Wisconsin.
The "Oscar-Mayer-Platz" in the village of Kösingen, now in the Federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, is named after him.
[edit] Advertisements
Oscar Mayer had several advertisements on TV involving young children in conspicuos areas, 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 commercial 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. [4]
The advertisement itself has received several million views on various video sharing sites such as YouTube, GetBack, and others, as well as being featured on YahooMusic in March 2009.[5]
A 1974 TV commercial featured four-year-old Andy Lambros holding a fishing rod and sandwich while singing, "My bologna has a first name, it's 'O-S-C-A-R'..." [6] It became one of the longest-running TV commercials in the country. The lyrics are ingrained in the memories of most Americans of the appropriate age.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ "Oscar Mayer Company History". http://brands.kraftfoods.com/oscarmayer/pdf/OM_Company_History.pdf. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
- ^ "Starbucks Refuses Marines". http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/starbucks.asp. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
- ^ "Oscar Mayer Supports the Troops Myth, Hoax and Rumor". http://brands.kraftfoods.com/oscarmayer/hoaxes_rumors. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
- ^ "Oscar Mayer "Wiener" Ad 1965 in color". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNddW2xmZp8.
- ^ "The Best TV Jingles". http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/getback/114685/the-best-tv-jingles/.
- ^ "Oscar Mayer Bologny Kid". http://www.tvacres.com/food_meats_oscarmeyer.htm. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
- ^ "Oscar Mayer Foods: Bologna Song Campaign". Jiffynotes. http://www.jiffynotes.com/a_study_guides/book_notes_add/emmc_0001_0001_0/emmc_0001_0001_0_00216.html. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
[edit] External links
- Oscar Mayer Homepage
- Commercial for the Oscar Mayer "Wiener", where the children sing
- Yahoo! Music featuring the Oscar Mayer "Wiener" song
