Maybe we think its July 4th, when Joey Chestnut and company dominate the ESPN airwaves at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, but in reality, National Hot Dog Day is actually the third Wednesday in July.
For all its innovation and brand creativity baseball has yet to have an official hot dog (or an official mustard for that matter). We have our flashy national Chevrolet promotions, but the food most closely associated with the National Pastime, the hot dog, missed a beat last week as the industry celebrated
Now there is no shortage of regional hot dog celebrations in baseball; there are hot dog races and a growing number of teams, from the Diamondbacks’ D-Bat Dog and the Baltimore Orioles’ Mac & Cheese Crab Dog to the Texas Rangers’ “Boomstick” Hot Dog to the Minnesota Twins’ “The Bratdog” have found gastronomic twists on the old, and cheap standby. Also teams have gone with national bands of choice; Nathan’s Ballpark Franks, Sabrett, Dodgers Dogs etc., to drum up interest and revenue, so finding an official “Hot Dog” of MLB might be a brand challenge.
However for one day, a day that got a lot of industry play with the Oscar Meier Weinermobile tooling around cities, maybe MLB could celebrate the Hot Dog, and drum up promotions and contests in cities across the country. It would get great viral play, and maybe could drum up a competition or a competitive eating match or two, and while baseball is more and more about healthy choices, a little indulgent dog by a host of former players could give the day and the dog, and all its condiments, its due.
Now of course there are brand and financial issues with rolling over for “National Hot Dog Day,” but the platform already exists, it got great viral play today, and after all, other than partner Chevy, there is nothing more ties to baseball than a hot dog.
Just some sports business food for thought..
