Chiefs? Buccaneers? As a marketer, it’s the commercials that I was rooting for this year. Not to mention I’m from Boston and we lost Tom Brady, the ads seemed to excite me more than the actual game. Although, the teams in the game weren’t the only missing piece to my Super Bowl. Some big brand players were missing from the advertisements this year as well.
What was my favorite commercial? Surprisingly, it was Cheetos, which I can say has never grabbed my attention in the past. Not only do I not eat them, but I also don’t relate or feel connected to the brand! So why did I like this commercial so much? It’s very simple, it was nostalgic, fun, and relatable.
Lately, I have found myself watching and listening to music and shows from when I was younger. Even starting a new “Oldies”playlist. Feeling that happy nostalgic feeling gets me out of the negative headspace that is so prominent today during a global pandemic. I loved that this ad, “It’s a Cheetos Thing,” brought me into a positive place and gave us the funny content in ads that we look forward to during regular years.
The relatability came from the concept in the ad, showing Mila Kunis hiding snacks that she was eating from husband (Ashton Kutcher). During the heat of quarantine social media would blow up about snacking and how they were very sacred and kept a close watch on. I loved the comedy that came with this ad and the like-ability of Mila and Ashton proved to be a great choice for influencers.
It also seemed as though Cheetos was going in a new creative direction based on this ad. Some of the past ads they have run have usually had music or a performance of some kind. Cheetos has typically had stronger ads in the past and what they have kept consistent is the quality of influencers that they choose.
In terms of views and the reaction that the ad received, it ended up number 7 of 10 ads that were deemed the best ads that were shown by USA TODAY. “The ad had an average Ad Meter score of score 6.5 and had nearly 800,000 YouTube views”. The main reason that this ad was so shareable in my opinion is because of Mila and Ashton and the star power that they bring as such a fun and lovable duo.
I do think it’s important that a lot of brands that didn’t participate gave back to the community, or really pushed important messages through instead of providing comedy. What I think was smart on Cheetos part, was bringing the commercial back to the way they used to be, which is what people are craving so much in our “new normal” given the pandemic changes around every corner.
