Cheetos has always been known as a playful, mischievous brand. And there's no better time to showcase that than April Fools' Day. Our challenge: create a socially driven April Fools' program to get people talking about Cheetos and solidify Chester Cheetah's role as chief mischief-maker.
We quickly realized that April Fools' had become a busy day for brands. From Chili's to Google to Vegemite, brands were using the holiday to introduce imaginary products and generate buzz. In order to stand out, we did something "unexpected yet undeniable." We created a real product, the world's first cheese-scented fragrance. It was called Cheeteau.
The product was announced in the last week of March with a YouTube video and a series of posts on Facebook and Twitter. Most thought it was a joke. But on April 1, we revealed that Cheeteau was in fact real.
We handed out bottles to fans in NYC and LA and gave our Twitter followers an opportunity to win their very own bottles by Tweeting Chester a "Cheesy Selfie."
The effort drove tremendous attention to the Cheetos brand:
During what's becoming a saturated time of year for "fake-outs" and imaginary news from big brands, Cheetos actually created a limited-release Cheetos-scented fragrance—and gave it away on social media. It quickly generated buzz across major news outlets and across the brand's social channels.
News & Media:
Commercial:
Initial Social Reactions:
After the Reveal:
