Wienermobile...

Quick: Who is the sponsor and owner of the Wienermobile?

One day, after a long, sweaty bike ride, our family passed a local grocery store on our way home.

"Hey look!" said PJ. "It's a hot dog car!"

Beth and I knew instantly what it was.

"No, PJ that's not a hot dog car," Beth said. "That's the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile (http://www.kraftfoods.com/om/omm_wienermobile.htm)."

(Did you guess Oscar Mayer? I'm bet you did. How could you not remember?)

I immediately turned the car around and headed back.

How could I not? How often does one see the icon of event marketing? It was word-of-mouth advertising before there was a formal name and association to promote it. And there it was -- the image of my youth. All new, but as retro as ever. I have to admit, it made me smile.

The newest publicity stunt? "Sing the Jingle" (http://www.singthejingle.com/). You can either enter the contest or just sing for fun. You choose of one of two Oscar Mayer jingles: "My Bologna Has a First Name" or "I Wish I Was An Oscar Mayer Wiener." Your performance is videotaped and posted on the Oscar Mayer contest website. (New technology, clever new "viral marketing" technique, but just as true to the original publicity tactics dating back to the first Weinermobile in 1936!).

Pj wasn't up for the challenge of jingle singing.

But Beth and I were. So, with me off-key but upbeat, we sang the "Name" song. It was fun. And we got a Weinermobile whistle!

They gave us the secret location of our video and we left smiling. Here's the link:

http://singthejingle.com/Contest/WatchVideo.aspx Our secret code is...

Sorry. Beth and I both agreed we're too sweaty and sour sounding to share the video. So we're keeping the secret code, secret. Sorry.

How can you use new technology and old tactics to create buzz about your product? What tool can you use: forums? online video? blogs? email marketing? mascots? celebrities? contests? user generated content?

Look had how one encounter got me creating a buzz for Oscar Mayer! Your opportunities are only as limited as your imagination.