They say that desire drives people to fulfil their ambitions and while the saying itself is a little cheeky, it still rings true for a lot of people. No more was that on full display than in a recent competition hosted by Austin, Texas radio station 96.7 KISS FM, which partnered with a Kia dealership to create a contest that called for people to actually kiss a Kia Optima LX trim in the hopes of going home and winning the sedan.

The contest, appropriately called, “Kiss a Kia,” attracted a huge number of people, all of whom were told to actually kiss the Optima for as long as they can. Contestants were given one hour to kiss a certain part of the Optima before receiving 10-minute breaks to relax their lips. Then they moved to another part of the car and kissed that part for another hour, repeating the whole process for as long as their bodies could take. Really, all of this took place. Ultimately, seven people still stood after an intense 50-hour kissing marathon, proving that aforementioned quote true. Organizers eventually had to pick a winner from the seven people, choosing 30-year old Dilini Jayasuriya, who ended up driving home with the sedan. The six finishers who missed out on the car didn’t go home empty-handed either as they received a number of consolation prizes, not the least of which included tickets to Justin Timberlake and Bruno Mars concerts.

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Would you have done it?

As somebody who is familiar to the obsession of toys and sneakers, the very idea of joining a contest of endurance is something that I know something about. Sure, the circumstances are different since waiting in line for days on end for a special edition sneaker’s release isn’t exactly the same as participating in a marathon contest that involved puckering up for more than two days straight and kissing a car with other people. The very thought of the act isn’t for some people, myself included, but I can appreciate the dedication of these people who joined the contest and came out on the other side of it, lips intact with a bagful of goodies to show for it.

It’s an impressive feat lasting that long, especially as a lot of other contestants either gave up and left voluntarily or were disqualified because their lips came off the car. The endurance aspect is very impressive, even if the determination to do so could be looked at it differently. Then there’s the question of actually wanting to be seen participating in the contest. Given how judgmental social media has turned into, being seen kissing a Kia Optima on Facebook Live where the contest was broadcast for its entire duration doesn’t sound like something you’d want all of your friends, maybe even strangers, to see.

Then again, this all goes back to desire and how that is fuelled by ambition. I can’t speak for the situation of the people who participated in the contest, but apparently, they felt it was worth the trouble if it meant going home with a brand-new $22,000 sedan. I probably wouldn’t have done it, but I’m not going to judge those who did. After all, you gotta take the hustle anyway and anywhere you can get them, right?