Cheetle In Cheadle

Challenge & Goal Cheetos lovers are some of the most passionate snackers in the game, and they know that you can’t enjoy the cheesy snack without getting your fingertips a little -okay, a lot – messy. The dust’s official name – Cheetle – wasn’t well known, and Canadians were split on whether it was delicious or just messy. Our challenge? Drive top of mind awareness for Cheetos by making “Cheetle” a part of Canadian snackers’ vernacular.

INSIGHTS & STRATEGY To increase relevance of “Cheetle” – the powdery residue that’s left behind after eating your favourite Cheetos snacks, and celebrate it with our fans, we needed to grab their attention and invite them – versus tell them – to join the Cheetle love. And what do we do with the things we love the most? We cherish them. We revere them. We build monuments to them.

EXECUTIONAlberta, Canada has a history of building oversized food landmarks. So when Cheetos discovered a small Albertan hamlet called Cheadle, we saw an opportunity: build a 17-foot-tall monument to memorialize the orange dust in a town of a similar name. The statue caused confusion among residents, but quickly became a viral sensation, attracting thousands of fans from all over. The statue was claimed by Cheetos several days later and generated significant coverage, becoming a global phenomenon. In October 2022, Cheetle was EVERYWHERE.

RESULTS & IMPACT The campaign permeated culture in a significant way, with images of the statue and Cheetos fans all over TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram, media outlets, and even late-night TV. The breakthrough nature of the program allowed the execution to garner earned media in both traditional and non-traditional outlets. Fans quickly added the statue to Cheadle’s Wikipedia page and designated it a “historical landmark” on Google Maps. With just one statue, Cheetos drove significant growth by turning a weakness into a powerful, distinctive brand asset.