On the Road in a Giant Almond

This article is adapted from the March 29, 2025, edition of Gastro Obscura’s Favorite Things newsletter. You can sign up here. Since the advent of the car, food companies have used them to advertise. Some simply painted their logos onto delivery trucks, while others created spectacles on wheels to get people talking, like the time that Moxie, the old-school soda company, put fake horses on top of cars that could be steered by a rider perched on the animal’s back. But that’s much too confusing. Really, the best way to get the public’s attention is to drive giant hot dogs through the middle of town. Of all the promotional vehicles still rolling along out in the world, one of the oldest and certainly the most famous is the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, which has been on the road, in one form or another, since 1936. A number of these giant vehicles are venerable enough to have ended up in museums. The Henry Ford Museum has a 1952 Wienermobile on display, while the Hershey’s Kissmobile Cruiser can be viewed at a transportation museum in Pennsylvania. But this spring, a new giant food-shaped vehicle has rolled out of the shop. Blue Diamond, which processes a vast number of the world’s almonds in Northern California, recently took their new “Nutty Cruiser” on the road. The Nutty Cruiser, by the way, is a 20-foot-long almond on wheels. “The concepting phase of it went in multiple directions. I love where we landed. It’s more of a rugged look to an almond,” explains Ralph Failla, the VP of experiential and production at Inspira Marketing Group, the company that created the 10,600-pound fiberglass almond for Blue Diamond. Part of that ruggedness, adds Failla, involves the cannon. “We added a cannon that shoots almonds out of the front,” he boasts. “We have our little parachutes on order. So once we launch [them], the almonds will come down in a little parachute.” Of course, the Nutty Cruiser is designed to distribute samples and souvenirs to a curious public. Along with two or three people to pass them out, there’s enough room for 10,000 packages of almonds “in the butt of the nut, if you’re looking at it that way,” Failla laughs. Like other promotional vehicles, the Nutty Cruiser features a website that lists its future stops. “We’re striving to hit a million samples this year, which is to get a million packs out to a million individual consumers,” Failla explains. This spring and summer, the car is headed to nine different music festivals, county fairs, and snack expos across the country. So far, the drivers of the Nutty Cruiser have provided some feedback. The almond shape of the car, says Failla, makes the Nutty Cruiser fairly aerodynamic. “It is a very smooth ride going down the road,” he says. “They said it feels like driving on air.” In actuality, though, what they’re driving on is a heavily modified box-truck body. Driving a giant almond has led to some unexpected challenges, says Blue Diamond Growers brand manager Laura Heckenlively. “Our driver was taking it across the country for its first event, and he was pulled over by a cop,” she says. “It wasn’t for speeding. The cop just wanted to take a photo of it.” “We’ve had consumers who’ve asked to hire it out for their kid’s birthday party,” she adds. “Someone offered to buy it from us. They’re like, ‘Name your price. We’ll take it.’” If you’re in the United States, you might spot the Nutty Cruiser on the road this summer. But you’re just as likely to see another promotional vehicle criss-crossing the country toward some event. Here are some notable examples. Oscar Mayer WienermobileCirca 1936Drivers: The HotdoggersNumber of Active Wienermobiles: SixSchedule The Big Idaho Potato TruckCirca 2012Drivers: The Tater TeamGiant Potato Weight: Four tons (of fiberglass)Schedule The Planters NUTmobileCirca 1935Drivers: The PeanuttersLength: 26 feet longSchedule

Mar 31, 2025 - 21:21

This article is adapted from the March 29, 2025, edition of Gastro Obscura’s Favorite Things newsletter. You can sign up here.

Since the advent of the car, food companies have used them to advertise. Some simply painted their logos onto delivery trucks, while others created spectacles on wheels to get people talking, like the time that Moxie, the old-school soda company, put fake horses on top of cars that could be steered by a rider perched on the animal’s back.

But that’s much too confusing. Really, the best way to get the public’s attention is to drive giant hot dogs through the middle of town. Of all the promotional vehicles still rolling along out in the world, one of the oldest and certainly the most famous is the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, which has been on the road, in one form or another, since 1936.

A number of these giant vehicles are venerable enough to have ended up in museums. The Henry Ford Museum has a 1952 Wienermobile on display, while the Hershey’s Kissmobile Cruiser can be viewed at a transportation museum in Pennsylvania. But this spring, a new giant food-shaped vehicle has rolled out of the shop. Blue Diamond, which processes a vast number of the world’s almonds in Northern California, recently took their new “Nutty Cruiser” on the road.

The Nutty Cruiser, by the way, is a 20-foot-long almond on wheels. “The concepting phase of it went in multiple directions. I love where we landed. It’s more of a rugged look to an almond,” explains Ralph Failla, the VP of experiential and production at Inspira Marketing Group, the company that created the 10,600-pound fiberglass almond for Blue Diamond. Part of that ruggedness, adds Failla, involves the cannon. “We added a cannon that shoots almonds out of the front,” he boasts. “We have our little parachutes on order. So once we launch [them], the almonds will come down in a little parachute.”

Of course, the Nutty Cruiser is designed to distribute samples and souvenirs to a curious public. Along with two or three people to pass them out, there’s enough room for 10,000 packages of almonds “in the butt of the nut, if you’re looking at it that way,” Failla laughs.

Like other promotional vehicles, the Nutty Cruiser features a website that lists its future stops. “We’re striving to hit a million samples this year, which is to get a million packs out to a million individual consumers,” Failla explains. This spring and summer, the car is headed to nine different music festivals, county fairs, and snack expos across the country.

So far, the drivers of the Nutty Cruiser have provided some feedback. The almond shape of the car, says Failla, makes the Nutty Cruiser fairly aerodynamic. “It is a very smooth ride going down the road,” he says. “They said it feels like driving on air.” In actuality, though, what they’re driving on is a heavily modified box-truck body.

Driving a giant almond has led to some unexpected challenges, says Blue Diamond Growers brand manager Laura Heckenlively. “Our driver was taking it across the country for its first event, and he was pulled over by a cop,” she says. “It wasn’t for speeding. The cop just wanted to take a photo of it.”

“We’ve had consumers who’ve asked to hire it out for their kid’s birthday party,” she adds. “Someone offered to buy it from us. They’re like, ‘Name your price. We’ll take it.’”

If you’re in the United States, you might spot the Nutty Cruiser on the road this summer. But you’re just as likely to see another promotional vehicle criss-crossing the country toward some event. Here are some notable examples.

Oscar Mayer Wienermobile
Circa 1936
Drivers: The Hotdoggers
Number of Active Wienermobiles: Six
Schedule

The Big Idaho Potato Truck
Circa 2012
Drivers: The Tater Team
Giant Potato Weight: Four tons (of fiberglass)
Schedule

The Planters NUTmobile
Circa 1935
Drivers: The Peanutters
Length: 26 feet long
Schedule