And the Oscar wiener is…
That’s right, applications for one of the country’s most coveted roles ends this month — a week after film industry stars have collected their Oscars.
Hot diggity dog indeed: Oscar Mayer is calling on applicants to help cook up a rich year for the company in an “extremely important” marketing role — driving the famous wiener on wheels, best known as the Wienermobile.
Less than 1% of candidates out of more than 2,000 applicants will be chosen.
The Chicago-based company, a subsidiary of Kraft Heinz, plans to hire 12 “Hotdoggers” — the job title for Wienermobile spokesperson and drivers.
Applications are due Jan. 31. They can be found at careers.kraftheinz.com.
The position is full time for one year. It includes a $35,600 base salary with a weekly allowance of $150 for meals and personal travel, as well as health care, 18 paid days off and all hotel expenses covered.
Qualifications include a bachelor’s degree, preferably in public relations, journalism, communications or marketing.
Hotdoggers travel an average of about 20,000 miles to 200 events across 20 states in their one-year tenure, the company said.
The 12 of them drive and maintain six Wienermobiles, create content for the company’s website and social media and “meat” and greet people at events.
Ed Roland, senior manager for brand communications for Oscar Mayer, called the job “extremely important.”
“From traveling to events across the U.S. to regularly speaking with consumers and media on behalf of the brand, Hotdoggers operate as a marketing firm on wheels, providing invaluable experience to recent graduates while continuing our mission of uniting millions around a love of meat,” he said.
Oscar Mayer launched the Wienermobile in 1936 as a 13-foot metal hot dog on wheels to transport the company spokesperson.
It was parked for several years during World War II when gasoline was in short supply, then rebooted in 1952 at 22 feet long and was the first to feature a sound system and “bun roof” (sunroof).
After an 11-year hiatus, the Wienermobile returned in 1988 as a 23-foot fiberglass hot dog on wheels.
Since then, it has undergone various campaigns, changes and upgrades. Today’s Wienermobile is 27 feet long and 11 feet tall.
The Wienermobile’s next scheduled visits to Illinois are Jan. 20-21 in the Quad Cities and Jan. 28-29 in the Rockford area.
