Have you ever been eating a hot dog at a backyard barbecue and thought, “I wish this were colder, and sweeter?” No? Neither have I. But clearly enough people did that Oscar Mayer decided to make hot dog-flavored popsicles. The hot dog popsicle “treat” is made of gelato, perfectly colored to look like a hot dog. It has smokey, umami notes and a drizzle of mustard-colored white chocolate. Oscar Mayer teamed up with Popbar to make this creation/abomination. And you can get one for only $2 at Popbar locations in Long Beach, Atlanta, New York City, and New Orleans.
It all started with a series of posts on Oscar Mayer’s Instagram account. The brand asked if a various uses of hot dog were stupid or genius. Enough people declared the “cold dog” frozen hot dog version “genius” to make it a reality.
We heard about this dessert(?) from Delish. Their writer got to ride in the Wienermobile as part of the campaign, and now I’m really interested. The iconic vehicle got a chilly update and is roaming NYC and the Jersey Shore this weekend to promote the popsicles. If tracking one of these monstrosities down finally helps me fulfill my childhood dream of riding in the Wienermobile, then I will gladly do it. Who knows, I may even enjoy a smokey, hot dog-flavored popsicle.
Weirdly, this isn’t even the first hot dog ice cream we’ve encountered from Oscar Mayer. In a previous summer campaign, they made ice cream sandwiches with mustard-flavored gelato and candied hot dog bits. Somehow, that sounds worse than the popsicle. They’ve also put out bologna face masks and bacon-scented shoelaces over the years for true fanatics. So they clearly need to update the song. “My ice cream has a first name, it’s O S C A R” has a certain ring to it.
Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth.
