The Next Iteration of the Food Truck is Here

A very clever vision test/food truck created by Nikon and their ad agency Altmann + Pacreau.

Food trucks have a special place in our hearts. Sure today they represent the hippest foods from some of the hippest chefs across the world. But for many of us, myself included, we have fond heartfelt memories of early food truck experiences that created an emotional bond. For me, it was Tom’s Truck that offered me a snack or hot dog on my way home from high school as I trekked through Passaic Park. 

Building on that emotional connection, and today’s technology, unlike Tom’s truck which was a self-modified mid 1940’s Ford truck, Nikon and their ad agency Altman+Pacreau has created the Vision Food truck. According to Ad Week, the truck was created to promote the brand and trick people into getting eye tests. Besides high quality cameras, Nikon is also one of the premier makers of lenses for eyeglasses. 

Ad Week describes: The menu, posted on the back wall of the truck, is structured like an eye exam. You can order only what you’re able to see. Instead of proposing fully formed meals, the menu is ridiculously basic—beginning with bread, lettuce and pickles. The things people actually care about in a burger get progressively smaller font sizes. Cheddar is sixth on the list … and the actual meat is eighth, so small you can barely see it on-screen. 

Once people get the meal they deserve, those who, we imagine, remain meatless are directed to a portion of the pop-up to take an actual machine-driven eye test.  

A very clever idea, which may lead other well known non-food brands to use food to a build their relationship with shoppers. After all, there is little that is more primal than food and can create a strong bond. I remember back in the day, when my dad’s favorite car dealer, John Early, would invite their customers to preview the new models before they were shown to the general public. There was champagne and hors d’oeurves, and the place was packed. And most of the time my father ordered a new car.