? ?
[long honk from car horn]
>> Driving the streets
of Madison, Rebecca Ream
relishes the fact that
her hot wheels turn heads.
>> We get people waving,
honking, taking pictures
People see it for the first
time, they don't even know
what it is.
>> So, what's twenty-seven feet
long?
>> We say it's always comparable
to a large SUV.
>> Eleven feet high?
>> It's a huge icon.
Everyone knows it .
>> I saw it from Grainger
and I had to come down.
>> Yeah.
? ?
"It" is the Oscar Mayer
Wienermobile, and
it's been around since 1936.
One, two, three:
say "cheesy wienie!"
"Cheesy wienie."
With a job like this,
"having a great day" is easy
for Team Becca and Ashley.
>> Have a great day!
>> I'm Turkey Bacon Becca.
My partner is always
Spicy Ashley.
We're officially known as
"Hotdoggers."
? ?
>> As a Badger grad, Becca knows
all about these buns of steel.
>> I'd seen the Wienermobile
growing up,
since I'm from Wisconsin.
It's such an iconic vehicle,
so I was always super-excited
as a kid.
And I was like, "Yeah,
that's what I want to do."
I am living the dream.
It's so awesome that
I get to see the United States
and I get to do it for work.
>> The job of meet and greet
is a year-long position,
traversing the country with a
fleet of six giant hot dogs.
>> We're the Southeast region.
We made our way down from
Wisconsin, where we had
training, so we went to
Michigan, Indiana, Ohio.
We've been to Kentucky, North
Carolina, South Carolina,
Florida, Georgia.
It's our own PR firm on wheels.
We are on Twitter and Instagram.
Sometimes it will be in front
of, like, landmarks or, like,
a beautiful view in front of
the Grand Canyon or something
like that, and it's pretty cool
to see the iconic vehicle
in such cool views.
>> But they don't get the keys
to this wiener on wheels without
being grilled about it first.
>> We get trained extensively
at Hot Dog High.
We get trained from everything
as far as how to drive it, and
we start in the classroom and
build our way to parking lots.
"Alright, tires look good.
Looks good over here:
tires look good, no scratches."
And then, finally, the road.
? ?
>> Let's be frank.
Sometimes these Hotdoggers feel
the heat, driving in a big city
with six lanes of traffic.
? ?
>> This is going to be
interesting, trying to get
into the far lane.
"Let me in, please."
? ?
The hardest part is
people will come in the left
lane and slow down cause they're
taking pictures next to us, and
if we want to, like, go faster,
we kind of are boxed in
because they're just so excited
taking pictures.
? ?
We like to say,
"We can really haul buns,"
but we always
follow the speed limit.
? ?
>> Cruising around with a window
on the world, there's no whining
about driving this wiener.
>> We have our hot dog buns
for glove compartments and
pretty cool seats that have
hot dogs all over them.
And, on the floor
it has ketchup and mustard,
and condiment-splattered carpet.
Oh, we have lots of puns,
We always say, like, "Oh,
come ketchup with us or meat us,
m-e-a-t!"
[laughs]
We like to slip it into
conversation and just see
if anyone will notice.
? ?
>> And there's one catchy tune
that's always a fan favorite.
[women singing in unison]
? Oh, I wish I were ?
? an Oscar Mayer wiener. ?
>> But that jingle
doesn't cut the mustard
without the Wienie Whistle.
[? sharp, high-pitched sound ?]
? That is what ?
? I'd truly like to be." ?
? "Because if I were ?
? an Oscar Meyer wiener ?
? everyone would ?
? be in love with me." ?
Whooo!
[? sharp, high-pitched sound ?]