Ashton Kutcher Is Primed to Crack a Cheetle-Coated Case in Cheetos’ New Super Bowl Teaser
It's one of several Frito-Lay brands that'll advertise in the Big Game this year
It’s a social scourge more common than any good-hearted person would like to believe. But it’s true: nearly half of Americans admit to sneaking snacks from their loved ones.
The news gets worse. Of those 48% who admit to sneaking snacks from friends and family, according to a recent poll by Morning Consult, one-in-four admit to doing it regularly. With this information out in the open, how are we meant to go on trusting those we care about—and who purportedly care about us?
The crimes against Ashton Kutcher
Surely, that’s the existential crisis facing actor Ashton Kutcher at this very moment. In Cheetos’ new 30-second Super Bowl teaser, released today, Kutcher is presented with what appears to be clear evidence of wrongdoing. He flips through a series of photographs, compiled in an unmarked manila envelope alongside an empty Cheetos Crunch Pop Mix bag (a recently released snack that combines classic Cheetos and Cheetos Popcorn). Surveying the documentation, Kutcher quietly mutters a repeated, “Oh my gosh.”
When he gets to the empty snack bag, it all seems to click. “I knew it,” Kutcher says, with a shocked expression.
Whodunnit cliffhanger
But to find out what it was that Kutcher knew all along, fans will have to wait for Feb. 7. That’s when Cheetos is advertising in the 2021 Super Bowl for the second year running.
In 2020, the brand made its first Big Game appearance in 11 years in a spot that introduced its new Cheetos Popcorn product and starred MC Hammer. Set to the artist’s hip-hop classic “U Can’t Touch This,” the ad also introduced the concept of Cheetle—the official name of that dust that coats fingers after they’ve carried a handful of Cheetos (or several) from bag to mouth.
Cheetos Crunch Pop (Re)Mix
After last year’s success, “we had to dial up both our product and Super Bowl campaigns this time around,” said Rachel Ferdinando, svp and chief marketing officer for Frito-Lay North America.
With the new Cheetos Crunch Pop Mix, “I humbly believe we’ve accomplished that,” she added. “And we’re bringing it to the biggest stage with the help of the multi-talented Ashton Kutcher, who we’re thrilled and honored to work with.”
Frito-Lay announced earlier this week that it purchased three advertising slots during this year’s Super Bowl, its biggest ad presence in the game to date. In addition to Cheetos, PepsiCo’s snack subsidiary will also dedicate one spot to Doritos, and the third will be a portfolio spot featuring several brands and starring NFL legends Troy Aikman, Deion Sanders and Peyton and Eli Manning.
But as far as the mystery of Kutcher’s Cheetos thief goes, the Morning Consult data would suggest that the perpetrator could live under the actor’s very own roof. And while the brand wasn’t willing to give any hints regarding their identity, the undercover photographs seem to depict a dark-haired woman. Could it possibly be none other than Mila Kunis? We’ll have to wait until the Big Game to see.
