Since 1883, Oscar Mayer has served up smiles with its tasty hot dogs, beloved jingles and famous Wienermobile. But in recent years, studies have shown eating processed meats can be hard on your health. Oscar Mayer turned to functional messaging to fight unhealthy perceptions. But by getting serious, the brand let its playful personality fade and Oscar Mayer lost relevance in culture.

During the summer hot dog-eating season, Oscar Mayer wanted to reinsert itself into culture and create a brand experience that reignited consumers’ love for Oscar Mayer. And there is nothing Oscar Mayer fans love more than the Wienermobile.

For over 86 years Americans young and old have dreamed of a ride in the iconic hot dog car, but there is only one Wienermobile, so only a lucky few have ever seen it, much less ridden in it.

Oscar Mayer wanted to fulfill America’s childhood dream of riding in the Wienermobile. So it partnered with Lyft, a ride-share company with over 18.7 million active riders in the U.S., to fully integrate into its app. Over a three-day period in four cities across the country, some riders who requested a Lyft XL (the largest car offered on the app) were surprised with the Wienermobile Lyft and a ride in an American icon.

But it wasn’t just a ride — the Wienermobile Lyft also offered up music, confetti, branded swag and every rider’s name in lights on a giant sign that mimicked the (much smaller) sign that accompanies a regular Lyft.

Oscar Mayer has a history of turning mundane everyday occasions into unexpected moments of joy. In true Oscar Mayer fashion, the brand decided to show up in an everyday place: the commute, to turn a boring ride-share into a moment to fulfill a long-held childhood dream.

Lyft delivers roughly 1 million rides per day, so it made perfect sense to use its platform to meet consumers where they already are. Utilizing an app millions already have downloaded, Oscar Mayer was able to seamlessly insert itself into preexisting consumer behavior/culture and deliver unexpected joy along the way.

The Wienermobile Lyft launched on social with a video revealing the first-of-its-kind ride-share to the country. Then push notifications and custom Wienermobile Lyft map animations were delivered via the Lyft app to millions in four cities, letting them know they could get a ride in the Wienermobile Lyft if they requested a Lyft XL.

Live camera crews followed the Wienermobile Lyft to capture riders’ surprised reactions. Then those reaction videos were quickly turned into social content in real time to continue to drive buzz and excitement.

In addition, TikTok hype videos were posted by drivers of the Wienermobile Lyft, urging consumers to request a ride. And Oscar Mayer worked with Twitter to create a custom Wienermobile Lyft emoji, which consumers used to share content from their ride and to alert others when they spotted the Wienermobile Lyft in the wild.

The Wienermobile Lyft immediately grabbed the country’s attention, resulting in over 440 pieces of earned coverage and 1.16 billion earned impressions across an array of media verticals, including tech, automotive, comedy, food and drink, current events and advertising. Notable outlets like “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon, ABC News and People were among the many to pick it up.

Riders opened our push notification at a rate over double the industry average, and our #WienermobileLyft hashtag reached over 6.2 million people. The activation had a 99% positive sentiment, with 85% of media coverage mentioning Oscar Mayer in the headline. The result was a very effective three-day activation that helped reinsert the brand into culture and reignite love for Oscar Mayer on a national scale.