SALT LAKE CITY — Thirteen-year-olds Emma Culver and Hannah Stevenson were thrilled.
While hanging out Tuesday at The Gateway, they helped themselves to some free gelatin and auditioned for their chance to be the next Jell-O giggle.
"They said they wanted a childish and innocent giggle, so we'll give them the best we can," Hannah said.
The Hello Jell-O "Give It a Giggle" Tour's mobile recording studio stopped in Salt Lake City to search for America's best, most contagious giggle.
People of all ages were able to record their laugh for a personal ring tone, and everyone 7 years old and up was eligible to enter the "Give it a Giggle" contest, with a grand prize of a trip for two to Los Angeles to record their giggle with Bill Cosby for a nationwide TV spot.
The tour, which is crisscrossing its way to 22 cities across the country, also featured hula hoop and gelatin-eating contests to win Hello Jell-O T-shirts, as well as a beanbag toss to pass the time.
The majority of kids at The Gateway on Tuesday seemed more interested in playing in the dancing fountain and eating free Jell-O samples than auditioning their giggle in the "Give It a Giggle" truck.
For those who did audition, a little inspiration came from Cosby's new Internet series "OBKB," which was available for viewing to help elicit laughter.
Cosby started working with Jell-O as a spokesperson for pudding in 1974. He will be making his first appearance on camera in a national TV spot for Jell-O since 1999 with the winner of the contest. The last time he worked with Jell-O was in 2005 to celebrate his 30th anniversary with the company at the Jell-O museum in LeRoy, N.Y.
Jell-O is also bringing Cosby back to weekly broadcasts by sponsoring "OBKB." In the all-new family Web show, Cosby will be interviewing children ages 6 to 11 about what kids find funny. He hopes to remind everyone about his or her inner child. The show will premiere later this month on www.ustream.tv/billcosby.
"Jell-O has the inherent ability to make people smile," said Brittney Boehm, a publicist at Hunter Public Relations. "And when paired with Cosby, the joy of Jell-O and the message of fun and smiles is amplified."
The Hello Jell-O campaign was launched because America's happiness has been waning over the past few years, according to the 2009 Gross National Happiness Index. According to Jell-O, only 1 percent of Americans are doing what makes them happy at any given moment, which is why the company wants to bring fun and smiles to everyone, every day.
Those who missed the audition can enter online at www.hellojelloaudition.com through Aug. 31.
e-mail: apierce@desnews.com