Relish the ride

When taking the family vehicle to prom just doesn’t cut the mustard and even a limousine seems ordinary, you call in the big dog.

This prom season, Bradley Burla was the lucky dog who secured a ride to the big event in the infamous Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.

That’s right, the company that makes the nation want to be a wiener sent its 27-foot hot dog on wheels to Coal City last weekend to give Burla and his date, Lexi Robbins, a ride to prom.

Burla, a junior at Coal City High School, entered the on-line Oscar Mayer Take Me to Prom contest and in early April he received an e-mail advising he was the grand prize winner, the only high schooler selected in the nation.

When the congratulatory e-mail arrived in his inbox, Burla said, “I thought it was fake.”

In fact, it wasn’t until the Wienermobile pulled into his driveway on Saturday afternoon that he believed it was true.

When entering the contest he had no thought of winning, but as some of his family said they were not all that surprised he came out as the top dog.

Hotdoggers Sizzlin’ Shelby and Queso Dog Kelia pulled into the driveway of Burla’s Berta Road home at 3:30 p.m. on May 6 and for 60 minutes its was non-stop photos and videos with the company’s content creators.

It’s not often one sees the Wienermobile, so it drew a bit of interest as it sat in the family driveway. Plenty of cars drove past many slowing down to get a closer look, stopping in the road to snap a photo or take a quick video. A few even pulled off the road to take it all in.

In winning the contest, Burla and Robbins were not only afforded a ride to the high school where they participated in the traditional Prom Walk, they received a corsage and boutonniere with roses in the company’s signature mustard color that featured a wiener whistle. There were also hot dogs covered in mustard and ketchup and bunches of balloons, although the rural winds blew most of them away.

Burla said he was excited for the prom, as did Robbins, a student at Minooka Community High School. The two are students in the Grundy Area Vocational Center’s agriculture program and members of its FFA organization.

In accepting Burla’s promposal, Robbins never imagined she would be taking the Wienermobile to prom.

“Surprised” is the word she use to describe her reaction to the news that he had won the contest and Oscar Mayer was providing their ride.

Oscar Mayer representatives say Burla was the single winner of the contest that is now in its second year.

Individuals interested in having Oscar take them to prom submitted their name on-line and one person—Burla—was selected at random out of thousands of entries. The prize valued at $400.

Wisconsin-based Oscar Mayer operates six Wienermobiles across the country and the Hotdogger team driving the ‘Weener’ vehicle taking the couple to prom serves the central region of the United States.

The content team had Burla and Robbins going in and out of the decorated Wienermobile and they even had a private dance party inside where they could, “shake their buns.”

The contest, now an annual promotion for the company, is open to high school juniors and seniors between the age of 17-19.
So, if anyone is looking to roll up to next year’s prom in the Wienermobile watch for the contest announcement in spring 2024 at oscartakemetoprom.com.

As for prom 2023, it’s certainly one Burla and Robbins won’t likely forget. We hope they relished the ride.