University alum Kelly Jordan would hardly describe her new job as “work.” Jordan, who graduated in May 2000, is a crew member on the Kissmobile 2, a pod-like vehicle shaped like three Hershey”s Kisses that travels the country handing out chocolate and raising money for the Children”s Miracle Network.
- Paul Wong
- The Kissmobile character smiles for the camera at a hospital stop in Grand Rapids in 1999.<br><br>PHOTO COURTESY OF HERSHEY”S KISSMOBILE
Jordan said she likes the job. ” You get to work for charity, travel and see the country and meet a lot of new people. Everyone is always excited to see you because you”re giving them free chocolate,” she said.
Crewmembers are hired for four-month stints, with the option to extend their stay aboard the Kissmobile for an additional four months. The Kissmobile is an 11-foot-6-inch tall chocolate lover”s fantasy that can store more than 230,000 Hershey”s Hugs and Kisses in refrigerated compartments.
Currently Hershey”s has two Kissmobiles that travel the country, visiting 100 cities throughout North America and covering over 100,000 miles a year. In each city, the Kissmobile goes to special events and festivals in addition to visiting children”s hospitals and fundraisers for CMN. To date Hershey”s has raised over $7 million for CMN.
The concept of the Kissmobile was the brainchild of someone who used to work with the Kiss brand, said Judy Hogarth, a spokesperson for Hershey”s.
“We just thought “wouldn”t it be fun.” Mobile marketing has become huge and everyone knows what a Hershey kiss is,” Hogarth said.
Despite the months of travel and free chocolate, the job of a Kissmobile crewmember can be a hard one to fill, said Lucia Folk, senior account manager for Marketing-Werks, who hires the crew members.
“You have to have someone who”s really well-rounded, who can represent themselves well in print, who is comfortable in front of cameras, can interact well with the children at the hospitals while wearing the Kiss mascot and who is willing to do the maintenance on the vehicle,” Folk said.
Jordan said the only hard part of her job is “remembering it”s everyone”s first time seeing the Kissmobile and keeping it fresh.”
“But,” she added, “we”re talking about chocolate, so it”s pretty easy to get excited about it.” Jordan plans to renew her contract for another four months.