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If an NBA superstar has Cheetle all over his Cheetos-eating right hand, he might whiff a few lefty high-fives. But, aside from slight embarrassment of the missed connection, it’s no big deal.
It’s a different matter entirely if a cosmetic surgeon has to do that same switch-up, or a police sketch artist or a commuter trying to parallel park. And therein lies the crux of the new Cheetos campaign called “The Other Hand” that shows all the ways this transfer of motor movement can go horribly wrong.
The goal of the five ads is, of course, to get a laugh. Success! And each could have come with a disclaimer that no actual drivers, patients or victims were harmed in the making of these spots.
According to the Frito-Lay brand, 99% of people eat Cheetos with their dominant hand, “which means they need to live their life using their other hand.”
The digital videos, from longtime agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners, are intended to be “an ode to the fans who will do anything for their favorite snack,” according to Tina Mahal, senior vice president of marketing at PepsiCo Foods North America. “We’re showing the world that it’s OK to use your ‘Other Hand’ and embrace the mess.”
A man tries to throw a football, for instance, and accidentally wings a passerby in the head. A baker tries her non-dominant hand at cake decorating, with results that nearly ruin a kid’s birthday party.
Along with the commercials, Cheetos has dropped a variety of print and outdoor ads that take the concept to appropriately ridiculous extremes. Chester Cheetah, for instance, is a scraggly shadow of his former self in a billboard with the tagline, “99% of people eat Cheetos with their dominant hand—even illustrators.”
A related stunt stacked two cars together on the street of New York, again blaming Cheetos for the mishap.
To extend the campaign further, the brand has partnered with Denver Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray with a video, from Ketchum, that highlights his numerous almost-high fives and blames the fails on his Cheetos snacking.
The work is in keeping with Cheetos’ ongoing emphasis on Cheetle, the sticky orange dust that fans “wear as a badge of honor,” per the brand.
And while it may be unintentional, the campaign calls to mind the iconic Snickers tagline, “You’re not you when you’re hungry,” which for years has shown the myriad things that can go wrong as a result of an empty stomach.
As part of the hype around “The Other Hand,” Cheetos wants consumers to share their own stories of the trouble they have caused under the hashtag #CheetosOtherHand on social platforms.
