Would you be interested in traveling across the southeast, entertaining people, attending festivals, participating in parades, being on TV or on the radio?
Would you still be interested if you had to travel in an 11-foot tall, 27-foot-long hot dog?
If so, you might want to apply to be a future hot-dogger and see the country while driving the iconic Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.
Hot-doggers Cooper Albert and Kaitlyn Goldstein, aka, Coop Dawg and Corndog Kait, spent this past weekend touring the city in their Wienermobile named “Oh I Wish.”
They were at the Chattanooga Zoo’s Boo in the Zoo Friday, the Cleveland Apple Festival Saturday and the Chattanooga Market on Sunday. At Boo in the Zoo the two were busy handing out Wiener Whistles and singing the Oscar Mayer wiener slogan as well as the Oscar Mayer bologna song along with Zoo guests.
The two were hired in June of 2024.
“It’s a one-year position,” said Dawg. “We go all around the United States, spreading smiles and having fun. Every week we go to a new city, attending festivals, events, and parades in that city and then it’s off to the next one.
Oscar Mayer opened his first hot dog store in 1883. In 1936 his nephew, Carl Mayer designed and built the first Wienermobile.
“He thought that his town needed a little bit of happiness, a little bit of joy,” Dawg said. “He took the company car, took the entire year’s marketing budget and said, ‘uncle I’m going to make a giant hot dog on wheels, and I am putting it in the parade.’”
Fast forward to 88 years later and Oscar Mayer has several Wienermobiles touring the country.
“We have six in our fleet,” said Corndog Kait. “We try and keep them regional so we can hit as many cities as we possibly can in the year. They all have different names like Big Bun, Yummy, Relish Me, Our Dog…It handles kind of like an RV, but you’re in a giant hot dog, so everyone is honking and waving and taking your picture while you’re driving down the road. We’ve been all around the southeast since June.
“A few weeks ago, we were in Memphis,” said Dawg. “Last week we were in Charlotte North Carolina.”
The hot-doggers were scheduled to be in Birmingham Alabama this week.
Coop Dawg said his grandmother was a major fan of Oscar Mayer hot dogs.
“When she was cooking up a hot dog for us, she always sang the Oscar Mayer wiener song,” he said.
After graduating from Carroll University with degrees in marketing and Spanish, Dawg said he applied to be a hot-dogger so he could travel the southeast spreading joy.
“I kept showing off my sparkling personality and here I am,” he said.
Corndog Kait graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Madison with a degree in Political Science.
“Oscar Mayer also recruits at different college campuses,” she said. “For me the Wienermobile rolled on to campus the second semester of my senior year. I handed in my resume and cover letter in person and here I am now.”
The two said anyone interested in being a hot-dogger can apply for the job.
“All you need is a college degree, a driver’s license and be ready to grab live by the buns,” Dawg said.
“You can also apply online,” Corndog Kait added.
“You have to have the flexibility and the willingness to live the traveling lifestyle a full year,” she said. “It’s been a blast. It’s buns of fun!”
Fun Facts
- The Wienermobile is 8 feet wide and weighs 14,050 pounds.
- Since the inception of the hot-doggers in 1988, less than 450 college graduates have held this prestigious position.
- The Wiener Whistle was developed in 1952.