Highlights of the Oscar Mayer death coverage
Media critics have all compared the Jackson coverages, so why can't we do the same with Oscar Mayer? Ever since I learned my beloved Caesar salad was named after someone not Julius C., I've had a soft spot for real people who've shared their names with products. So…
Best Oscar Mayer death story: Wisconsin State Journal.
After leaving Harvard University for health reasons, Mayer joined the family business in its Chicago accounting office in 1936.
"There were three accountants in the office and I was the flunky, making out payroll accounts by hand," he said. "I've always felt I might have a little better understanding of what people in our plant have to do because I did it myself — I've always seen our employees as individuals and I respect the hard work they do."
Best evidence there are more Oscar Mayers: Legacy.com. Coverage was clear this Oscar Mayer — while the one most responsible for the company's modern success — was the third Oscar Mayer to run the company. But Legacy's formal obituary turns up a few more to cheer: his son Oscar, his grandson Oscar and his great-grandson Oscar.
Best headline: "Meats His Maker" from who else but the New York Post. Best pop culture tribute: "Six Classic Oscar Mayer Wiener Commercials" from the Daily Beast. Best sidebar: "What other products were named for real people?" I had no idea about Mrs. Fields or Duncan Hines.
Best post-death rumor coverage: "TMZ: No Weinermobile at services for Oscar Meyer," from USAT's Drive On community (full disclosure: my team at work helps run the community), because it contained the best take on the rumor: "Too bad. When Carl Karcher, founder of the Carl's Jr. chain in the West that now also runs Hardee's, died, his services included free hamburgers for everybody. Heck, if Drive On were to kick the bucket, we'd be wanted to be buried in the Weinermobile. "
Best post-death controversy: PETA wanting to bury the Weinermobile.
Best memorial: "Remembering My Days as a Hotdogger," looking at the company's ethic, from a man whose first job out of college was driving the Wienermobile. "On my first day, upon landing in Madison, Wis. (home of the WMB corporate headquarters), all of the hotdoggers were greeted at the airport gate by Oscar Mayer executives…"
Best consistent mistake: "Weinermobile" instead of "wienermobile" in USAT, NPR and Time. Best resulting discovery: Wienermobile blog.
