Move over Easter Bunny, Sweetos is in town!
Known for their savory snacks that leave a trail of unnaturally colored orange on fingers around the world, Cheetos has launched its first sweet snack in the brand’s 67-year history: “Sweetos.” The cinnamon sugary puff egg shaped goodness is a cross between Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal and Taco Bell’s cinnamon twist – and it’s how Cheetos wants to take on Easter. More directly: Chester Cheetah is issuing a throw-down to the Easter Bunny. The festive colorful packaging shows Chester wearing bunny ears and carrying an Easter basket.
Will Cheetos take a bite out of the Easter sweets market? The brand is bringing together several consumer trends in their strategic marketing efforts:
- targeting the sweet taste buds of Millennials
- tapping into the rise of limited-edition holiday snacks
- irreverence
Yes, irreverent humor is key to the Sweetos campaign, which compares their new puffed cinnamon egg-shaped snack with the classic chocolate bunny, whose “sunken candy eyes…will haunt you in your dreams.” In short, you’ll suffer no guilt from eating Sweetos – they don’t even have ears to hear you eating them. Or “weird little feet.” The spot ends with a reminder about the bunny’s eyes – glowing for horror-movie-like effect – and the line “Easter will never taste the same.”
Really, Chester Cheetah isn’t taking on the Easter Bunny. Sweetos just wants a piece of the Easter market – much as many of us want a piece of that chocolate rabbit after watching that commercial. And just like that, they’ve inserted themselves directly into the consumer consciousness, right alongside the poster child for the spring holiday. I’ll definitely be hopping over to the store to see what the hype is about before the limited edition snack disappears off the shelves.
~ Jazmine Rodriguez, Account Coordinator, The S3 Agency
