Guy Fieri, Chevy Dream Up Apple Pie Hot Dog for Field of Dreams Game
Photo: General Motors
Somewhere in the United States of America, a big fan of baseball and Kevin Costner movies wished upon a monkey’s paw that the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox would play a game at a recreation of the ballpark from Field of Dreams. In that moment, one of the fingers slowly withered and shriveled inwards toward the palm. And that’s how we ended up with Guy Fieri and Chevrolet hawking an Apple Pie Hot Dog.
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On Monday, Chevrolet announced a team-up with the duly elected Mayor of Flavortown that sees the duo delivering something literally nobody asked for ever. Attendees at this Thursday’s Field of Dreams game will have the opportunity to purchase — and presumably actually consume — a hot dog and apple pie filling wrapped together in a Pop Tart-esque pastry.
The inspiration for this … very interesting snack? A 47-year-old commercial that names baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet as things that “go together in the good ol’ U.S.A.” And if ever there were anything that just screamed America through a star-spangled bullhorn, it’s an Apple Pie Hot Dog created by Guy Fieri.
Rather than just put together a combo meal package for the game and slap some bowtie branding on it like anyone else would, Chevy had the great idea to combine the ingredients and create a one-of-a-kind concoction for the one-of-a-kind Field of Dreams game. Thus, the Apple Pie Hot Dog. And when you want to serve something as preposterous as an Apple Pie Hot Dog, who else do you turn to but the dude who developed Donkey Sauce?
Photo: General Motors
“As a long-time Chevy guy, it’s awesome to be working together on this funky throwback snack for the MLB at Field of Dreams Game,” said Fieri, who once starred in ads for Flowmaster mufflers. “I can’t wait to see the reactions from fans as they take their first bite of the Apple Pie Hot Dog!”
Same.
Chevy throws it back to a classic jingle with Apple Pie Hot Dog
So why, exactly, is Chevrolet burdening the arteries of humanity with an Apple Pie Hot Dog? It all goes back to 1975 and an iconic car commercial with a catchy jingle.
This classic TV ad sees “Polish Cowboy” Ed Labunski sitting at a piano in the middle of a field, where he asks the audience — America at large — to name a few of its favorite things. Favorite sport? That’s baseball. Favorite sandwich? Seemingly settling a debate that rages on to this day, the answer is hot dog. Favorite pie? Why, apple, of course!
And America’s favorite car? Chevrolet. Labunski and a chugging bassline lead the disembodied voice of the nation in song: “We love baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet.” And repeat.
That tune came from late ad copywriter James Hartzell, who also conceived the popular “Ask the kid who owns one” print campaign for the 1969 Chevrolet Camaro. It’s a real lesson in the effectiveness of repetition — listen to it once, and it’ll wind up stuck in your head for the next hour or so.
When Hartzell died in 2010, Jim Bernardin, a former colleague at Campbell Ewald, said, “I still consider it the best automobile commercial ever made for Chevrolet or any other carmaker, for that matter.”
Car and Driver agreed, ranking “Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie, and Chevrolet” tied for first on a 2005 list of the 10Best Car Commercials. Legendary British ad man David Ogilvy also said that the spot was his favorite of all time, and not just among car commercials.
So popular was the spot that General Motors’ Australia unit aped the commercial for Holden, echoing the jingle and swapping in football, meat pies, kangaroos, and Holden cars. You’ve got to assume that they swapped the order to favorite sport, pie, and animal because a kangaroo pie doesn’t seem entirely appetizing or ethical.
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And, yes, before you even ask, Chevrolet did remix the jingle to match the style of 2021. Which is to say it’s almost nearly unpalatable.
“Our classic jingle is back with some new-school flair,” the brand says. “It’s time to get your groove on.”
Well, not everything’s updated, I guess.
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Rejoice! You can make your own Apple Pie Hot Dog at home
Now, I know what you’re thinking. You can’t possibly make it to Dyersville, Iowa, by 7 p.m. on Aug. 12. Or you can’t front the Field of Dreams game’s average ticket price of $1,413.63. But you really, really want to see what this Guy Fieri-created Apple Pie Hot Dog is all about. Well, don’t sweat it, Shoeless Joe. The mayor himself is all too happy to show you how to make your own.
So what is the Apple Pie Hot Dog? Take a rectangle of pie crust and top it with bacon jam — chopped crispy bacon reduced with brown sugar, honey, and apple cider vinegar. Slap on some apple pie filling and a beef hot dog, egg wash the edges of the crust, then top with another crust. Once you’ve crimped the edges to seal off the pie, you top it with sugar and pie spice and bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes.
Photo: General Motors
After you pull your Apple Pie Hot Dog out of the oven, spoot on a 50/50 mix of apple pie filling and mustard and hit it with a bit more bacon. Viola! You have the perfect snack for watching the game, which airs on Fox, or for your nephew’s bar mitzvah.
Oh, and because this is sure to become a secret weapon in your culinary arsenal, Chevy’s also got this handy dandy recipe to hold on to.
Photo: General Motors
Honestly, this … doesn’t sound like the worst thing in the world? And it’s actually remarkably restrained for the man responsible for trashcan nachos and cornbread-stuffed meatloaf. But, hey, you know what? Either way, Guy Fieri ain’t out here trying to make racist butter goblin Paula Deen a thing again, Gordon Ramsay.
Guy Fieri has done a lot to reclaim his public image and endear himself to the people — bad takes on service industry wages aside. Will the Apple Pie Hot Dog be yet another delicious chapter in his growing legacy? If you bake it, they will come.
Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.