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Peanuts, Pandemics, and People. (Oh my!)

Writer's picture: OwenOwen

Updated: Feb 15, 2023

You made it! Welcome to the nuttiest blog on the internet. If you have already heard the "spiel" enough times, go ahead and keep scrolling. For those of you who don't know what they are about to get into, let me cashew up to speed.


Last spring I accepted my first full-time job as a Planters Peanutter. Peanutters are the official spokespeople of the Planters NUTmobile and travel the country for an entire year. Every week or so, Peanutters travel to a new city to promote Planters through radio and TV appearances, newspaper interviews, grocery, retail, and charity functions. Basically, the NUTmobile is a traveling public relations firm on wheels.


It's been nine weeks since I graduated "Peanut Prep" but damn, it has been the quickest nine weeks of my life. Already, I have visited six cities, worked dozens of events, and met countless wonderful people. Originally, this blog was going to be a weekly recap but I quickly learned that it is nearly impossible to post on top of the many other weekly responsibilities. Now, I have determined that this blog will act as a place to reflect on discoveries made along the road. If you are interested in more of my day to day life, check out my personal Instagram on Mondays for high quality photos and my Peanutter Instagram for fun memories.


Now that you are up to speed, lets talk about what this entire job revolves around.


PEANUTS

More specifically, the NUTmobile. A giant, 26 foot-long peanut guaranteed to turn heads. There are many highlights to this job but one that will NEVER get old are the reactions I see while driving on the road. I've seen mouths literally drop, children screaming to their distracted parents or vise versa, parents yelling at their kids to "look up!" and I have even been trailed into parking lots just for a picture. Everyone needs a picture. The pictures range in quality from truckers taking blurry, one handed, photos through the mirror, to the man who pulled up next to us at a red light and legitimately got out of his car to take a selfie with the NUTmobile. Often, immediately after pictures are taken, I watch as people post to their Instagram stories or text their friends and family.

Photos don't just act as digital copies of a memory. They act as proof.

If you want easy, natural, buzz and excitement from an experience, you have to be to be out of the ordinary. I know most of you are thinking "NO SHIT, Owen. I knew that before I even knew what P.R. stood for." But here's the catch...The experience needs to be a spectacle, it needs to produce bragging rights, it needs to be extraordinary. There is one city in the entire United States where a giant nut on wheels is not extraordinary. Verona, Wisconsin. Home-base of the Wienermobile and NUTmobile programs. Seeing a giant food-shaped vehicle on your way home from work is normal there. No need for phone proof because memories become shareable stories when nobody has had them before.


PANDEMIC

This is a year like no other. During a typical year as a Peanutter, Planters would assign the location of each team and schedule most events. These events could be festivals, fairs, concerts, football games, parades, or really anything with a large crowd. This year, Planters determines our location but we Peanutters schedule the majority of events.


Initially, this new structure seemed daunting in comparison to what might have been pre-pandemic. Quickly, I came to realize it is quite the opposite. Because of the pandemic, we have been able to connect with communities on much deeper levels than ever before. Instead of 500 quick interactions at a music festival, there is time to truly connect with families, fans, and seniors. Retirement homes and farmers markets are my team's favorite place for meaningful conversations but we also have surprised kids on their birthdays and even shown up to impromptu neighborhood block parties.

The safety of our fans and ourselves is our number one priority. Masks? ALWAYS. Hand sanitizer? Yup! Sanitizing spray? Mhmm. Wipes? Of course. At events where we have a "set-up" all participation is opt-in. If people want samples, we encourage them to help themselves instead of handing them out. If people want a picture taken, we sanitize our hands before and after we touch their phone. I have even taken pictures on my personal camera and emailed the photos to the families after the event. Sometimes, we don't even get out of the vehicle! We can chat though the windows or the built in microphone connected to speakers outside of the NUTmobile. My partners once compared me on the microphone to a high school dance DJ...And I couldn't be more proud. In a year full of canceled events, it brings me such joy to have the ability to make someone's day.


PEOPLE

As a Peanutter, it is incredibly easy to talk about yourself and the job. Hell, our job is literally to tell people about our job. But as a human, I challenge myself to dive into more substantial conversations. One of the most memorable pieces of advice I was given during training, was to "be interested, not interesting." It reminds me of a conversation I had with my dad once. He told me that when you go on a date, you should always allow the other person talk more. I take these pieces of advice to heart when meeting new people. Tena, pictured above in the bottom right photograph, has traveled all over the world and now spends much of her free time in the wood shop building clocks for her friends and family, or toys that she donates to orphanages in Haiti. Andy, pictured directly above Tena with his thumbs up, works in restorative commercial reality and takes pride in building healthy, diverse neighborhoods. His nickname isn't "The King of Butchertown" for nothing. Everyone has a story to tell and the NUTmobile helps bring it out of people.

"Be interested, not interesting"

If you made it this far into my blog, thank you. If you helped me get to this point in my life, thank you. This blog is for you all. I did my best to make it a worthwhile read but if there are any specific topics you would like to hear about, please don't hesitate to reach out through my website or socials. I'd love to hear from you!


Peace, Love, Peanuts.

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©2020 by Owen Luterbach.

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