CHEETOS® Mac ‘N Cheese was looking for a way to connect the brand to pop culture and find relevance in the crowded mac ‘n cheese space.
With an earned-first idea that was identifiably CHEETOS, the brand focused on connecting with a Gen Z audience to drive awareness and affinity for CHEETOS Mac ‘N Cheese as a bold choice within the category. Leaning into audience insights, the brand tapped into CHEETOS fans’ boldness, specifically how they express themselves through fashion and the food they love.
With macramé patterns taking over fashion – macramé saw a 3,200% increase on Google search in 2022* – CHEETOS Mac ‘N Cheese decided to put a twist on this style to create two wardrobe staples that their core audience was sure to love.
*https://www.elitedaily.com/lifestyle/home-decor-trends-2021-gen-z
To bring this to life in a mischievous and bold way, CHEETOS Mac ‘N Cheese partnered with fashion designer and macramé artist Coral Castillo, who added her own captivating style and flavor to the pieces while helping drive brand relevance. Castillo, who is no stranger to fashion challenges, went out of her own comfort zone to design two capsule items that highlighted her handmade macramé and notable CHEETOS Mac ‘N Cheese attributes. The CHEETOS Mac ‘N Cheese x Coral Castillo MAC’ramé Collection consisted of:
The MAC-Top Sneakers: A fun twist on one of Chester Cheetah’s signature apparel pieces. The MAC-Tops were fitted with Castillo’s handmade macramé designs and lined with cheetah print on the insole and shoe tongue. Fans could show their love of CHEETOS Mac ‘N Cheese with every step they took in these sneakers, which included a custom orange outsole with the CHEETOS logo and spiral noodle shapes.
The Fanny MAC: Playing off the brand’s 2022 Fanny MAC design, the waist bag returned with an elevated MAC’ramé touch to add functional couture to every outfit. Combining Castillo’s handmade macramé and CHEETOS’ bold flavor, it featured a corkscrew noodle zipper, smooth cheetah print-lining and an adjustable faux leather strap with handmade macramé details. The Fanny MAC was also designed to fit a 5.9 oz box of CHEETOS Mac ‘N Cheese to help transport fans’ favorite mac anywhere.
The collection launched in August 2023 ahead of the fall fashion season with a press release, and Coral Castillo conducted media interviews with food, lifestyle and Hispanic outlets. The team also partnered with fashion, lifestyle and foodie influencers including Davis Burleson, Vanessa Hernandez, Trinh Carreon, Marquis O’Nealy, and Jonny Morales.
To get their hands on the collection, fans could visit cheetosmacrame.com for a chance to win a pair of MAC-Tops or Fanny MAC and learn more about the collection. Those lucky enough to win a pair of Mac Tops or a Fanny Mac received their prize in a custom glossy package with a personalized note from Castillo.
To help drive buzz and excitement around the collection and giveaway, the brand partnered with influencers in the food, lifestyle and fashion spaces who were also CHEETOS lovers to share how they would style their MAC‘ramé accessories.
CHEETOS Mac ‘N Cheese also produced an editorial-style photoshoot to showcase the collection, alongside Castillo and in lifestyle settings. These images became engaging and creative social assets to amplify the campaign across CHEETOS owned channels, Coral Castillo’s social pages and paid media.
The partnership between CHEETOS Mac ‘N Cheese and Coral Castillo reignited excitement from the brand’s initial launch in 2020. By the end of the program, an impressive 130,000+ people entered the giveaway for a chance to win one of a limited run of MAC’ramé Collection pieces. With 715 overall placements and 2.9B+ impressions, coverage generated 89% key message pull-through and 99% positive/neutral sentiment across media coverage.
On social, influencer partners garnered over 11.2M in total reach, exceeding benchmarks for click-through and awareness across Meta and TikTok. With paid social boosting, the content on Meta had a 1.19% click-through rate, surpassing our 0.3% benchmark; TikTok saw a 0.18% click-through rate, surpassing our 0.05% benchmark, and had over 72,000 link clicks to the sweepstakes site.
The CHEETOS Mac ‘N Cheese x Coral Castillo MAC’ramé Collection won over CHEETOS aficionados and fashionistas alike. With one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted macramé designs, Castillo’s media blitz, engaging influencer and behind-the-scenes social content, the campaign surpassed impressions goals by 50%. Extending into the fashion space also earned the brand coverage in publications that wouldn’t normally cover CHEETOS Mac 'N Cheese, including outlets like WWD and Footwear News. Highlighting Castillo's inspiration and origin story also garnered interest from multicultural outlets like Mitú, who called this “the wildcard collab we never knew we needed.” This resulted in over 24.8M total impressions and 47 total placements across Hispanic media.
