Last week, as I was strolling down Michigan Avenue, a car with shiny domes resembling giant Hershey’s Kisses drove by. As the car turned, I noticed the word “Kissmobile” on the bumper.
As I later learned, Hershey Foods’ Kissmobile, like the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, crisscrosses the nation, appearing at parks, zoos, conventions – wherever hungry crowds gather. The Kissmobile also raises money for the Children’s Miracle Network, a charity that helps pay for medical care for sick kids.
I have to confess that my first thought on seeing the Kissmobile was anything but charitable; it was downright skeptical. Skeptical, that is, that the Kissmoblie could beat the seemingly more “aerodognamic” Wienermobile in a race.
Where did that idea come from, you ask? Frankly, how else can you tell who really cuts the mustard? Plus, the image of a gargan-tuan hot dog racing three 7 1/2-foot-high Hershey’s kisses down a track is irresistible.
Of course, the outcome I imagined wasn’t pretty: total meltdown, chocolate all over the track. A bittersweet finish.
As I was struck by this vision, I knew it had to happen. So I phoned Oscar Mayer and Hershey, only to be told that my idea wasn’t original: Already a race had happened in April in Dallas. I was too late. Or was I?
The race, it seems, had ended in a suspiciously wimpy tie. In fact, Michael Bluhm, Oscar Mayer’s Hotdogger adviser, said the race “wasn’t fair. Even though I’m partial, we should have won.”
Jeff Corder of Marketing Werks in Chicago is the Kissmobile’s project coordinator. He disagrees with Bluhm. “We thought they wouldn’t `ketchup,’ ” said Corder, who got a bit pun happy. “But we’d `relish’ a rematch.”
Surprisingly, stats on both cars indicate that they match up well, at least on paper. They both have V-8 engines; their dimensions are almost identical. At 13,250 pounds, the Kissmobile is 3,250 pounds heavier than the Wienermobile. But the newest Wienermobile is two years older than the Kissmobile.
Don’t you want to know who is top dog, who can really haul buns? KidNews will pursue a rematch with dogged determination. Stay tuned….
