Cheetos has released a new 15-second spot featuring Thing, the disembodied hand from Netflix’s “Wednesday.” Created by Goodby Silverstein & Partners, the ad playfully showcases Cheetos’ signature orange “cheetle” dust with Thing auditioning for the brand ambassador role in a quirky, memorable way.
Running across YouTube and social media, the campaign ties into the new season of “Wednesday” and is expected to support the launch of a limited-edition Flamin’ Hot Fiery Skulls flavor. Meanwhile, Thing’s antics extend beyond the screen—leaving orange trails across New York City, tampering with billboards, and stirring up mischief around the city.
Here’s what iSpot’s Creative Assessment platform revealed on actual viewer response to the :15 spot.
The Details:
- The :15 “Thing!” not only enjoyed more positive responses across most audience segments including all manner of snack intenders, but the shorter form also sparked higher consumer intent:
- Although neither ad drove a higher proportion to increased consideration vs the average candy & snack ad (past 90 days), the better persuasive ability of the shorter form is good news for the budget, signaling an opportunity for the brand to favor the :15 and achieve broader reach and/or an optimized budget.
- 60% of all viewers seeing the :15 “Thing!” reported positive Cheetos intent vs 55% of the :30 audience (and a category 90-day benchmark of 61%). Of course, if/when the ad reveals the Flamin’ Hot Fiery Skulls, this could obviously change.
- Although neither ad drove a higher proportion to increased consideration vs the average candy & snack ad (past 90 days), the better persuasive ability of the shorter form is good news for the budget, signaling an opportunity for the brand to favor the :15 and achieve broader reach and/or an optimized budget.
- The :15 “Thing!” sparked Curiosity among many viewers, with the Funny approach landing very positively – particularly among females under 50:
- The characters (Thing) were the centrally impressionable aspect of the creative as intended, with viewers loving the concept as an extension of the “cheetle” dust characteristic of Cheetos.
- Comments on the :15 spot suggest that the clever link between the “Addams Family” and “Wednesday” character and the Cheetos brand was unexpected and made more memorable by the humorous middle finger insinuation at the end of the short form ad.
- Comments also reflected much brand love, with the ad clearly an entertaining reminder for many – with a healthy 65% of all sentiment on the ad positive.
- The characters (Thing) were the centrally impressionable aspect of the creative as intended, with viewers loving the concept as an extension of the “cheetle” dust characteristic of Cheetos.
Gen Pop Viewer Sentiment on “Thing!” :15:
Sample comments on “Thing!” :15
“Cheetos chips is the most amazing brand ever. I’m not gonna talk about the brand only. I’m also gonna talk about how innovative this company is that they chose the ‘Addams Family’ hand which is a very, very favorite character. They put it into an ad and then they made it as a middle finger thing, which is gonna be in the mind of anyone who’s watching. They’re gonna remember every time they see Cheetos at stores or anyone else. This is absolutely genius.”
Male 21-35
“It made me giggle. I love cheetos and I absolutely love ‘Wednesday,’ so seeing it put together was amazing. I also love the comedic touch added to it, especially at the end. I think this was a really good job. Well done and thank you for blessing my eyes.”
Female 16-20
“Product placement was good. Using an unconventional character was appealing. ‘The Addams Family’ is popular among young and old demographics due to its presence in both time periods of entertainment.”
Male 36-49
“I love that they used the hand from ‘The Addam’s Family.’ It makes you want to eat Cheetos and watch the movie. The end, where he almost threw up a hand sign, is very funny. I love this commercial.”
Male 16-20
“I didn’t know that there was a ‘Wednesday’ series! I love the whole concept of this Cheetos commercial with the reference to ‘Thing’. Worth watching the show and worth eating Cheetos.”
Female 50+
“This commercial was entertaining, and strategically uses the release date for the ‘Wednesday’ series’s next season. The ad mixes modern humor with the traditional drier comedy of ‘The Addams Family,’ making it universally funny for all ages.”
Female 21-35
“The ad felt fun and playful, just like the Cheetos brand. It brought a sense of nostalgia and made me smile. The colors and music caught my attention and matched the snack’s bold personality. It made me crave the cheesy flavor and think of sharing it with friends.”
Male 21-35
“Oh my goodness, it truly captured my attention from the get go. It was totally something I wasn’t expecting and new!! Super funny!! I loved it!”
Female 36-49
“I think that lady’s voice was way too loud and annoying. I was so put off by it I couldn’t even pay attention to the rest.”
Male 36-49
“I really like the humor of the ad. It got my attention. I usually skip past ads when I can, but I would watch this ad.”
Male 50+
“Really cool ideas put together in a really awesome way that made the ad worth watching. I’d watch it again for sure.”
Female 16-20
“It’s cool. I am a big ‘Addams Family’ fan and the whole commercial is absolutely priceless. And then on top of all that, it’s about Cheetos.”
Male 50+
- An above-norm 83% successfully recalled Cheetos (unaided) after a single exposure (+19 pts over candy & snack benchmark):
- This compares within range of other recent movie/show tie-in ads. Although “Wednesday” saw fewer mentions in viewer verbatim than the other tie-in ads shown below, 7% mentioned “hand” and 2% mentioned “Addams” and/or fingers (note that viewers are not required to name the brand at all in their comments; all mentions would be spontaneous for this open-end).
- Regardless of snack consumption, second-by-second trace results reflect a creative that maintained high engagement across a broad audience once reached, at the high end of the normative range of all ads (the shaded area below):
- Emotional profiling of viewer sentiment reflects a wide range of positive emotional connections made by both spots in the new “Thing!” campaign, from incredulity to Quirky/Eerie/Surreal to Ingenious – aligning well with Cheetos’ brand voice.
- “Thing!” :15 placed third among chip (and Frito-Lay) ads tested over the past 90 days, with BBQ/summer themed ads taking the lead (not surprising given the season):
- This suggests a version of “Thing!” featuring the Flamin’ Hot Fiery Skulls line extension could do very well, particularly as fall/Halloween approaches (as the brand’s continued campaign will likely address).
To stand out in today’s busy snack market, advertisers need to find creative that truly connects with people and drives results. Cheetos’ “Thing!” :15 shows how fun, relevant storytelling can create memorable moments and strong engagement.
Schedule a demo to find out how your brand can partner with iSpot to quickly solve both challenges simultaneously, delivering high-performing creative while boosting the effectiveness of planning and in-market execution to achieve—and outperform—campaign objectives.
Creative Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners