Cheez-It has unveiled a new ad for its Extra Toasty line that highlights the unique appeal of the line extension.
Through its storytelling, “The Rug” aims to capture attention and reinforce the product’s position as a standout snack option. It centers on visual cues and comedic timing to emphasize the snack’s extra toasted quality.
Here’s what iSpot’s Creative Assessment platform revealed on actual viewer response to the :15 spot.
The Details:
- The Funny characters and visuals in the :15 “The Rug” stood out vs other snack ads over the past year to American viewers, sparking Curiosity and Love It response:
- The :15 creative delivered breakthrough well above benchmark levels while also persuading 66% to be more likely to purchase the brand (to outpace the snacks category by +6 pts).
- The strong consideration was linked to at- to above-norm response across most age/gender targets, pointing to broad reach media plans.
- Moreover, the short creative served as an excellent brand reminder, with 85% recalling Cheez-It on an unaided basis (+20 pts over the snack average).
- The :15 creative delivered breakthrough well above benchmark levels while also persuading 66% to be more likely to purchase the brand (to outpace the snacks category by +6 pts).
- Females overall were a better audience for “The Rug,” which outperformed the brand’s :30 “Snap Out of It” featuring Bravo’s Phaedra Parks (the latter likely most appropriate to air on Bravo programming to reach fans):
- However, “The Rug” was slightly outpaced in overall response by a highly relatable Goldfish :15 spot “Love You,” which featured an all too human tendency to merge personal and private salutations while on video calls.
- Encouragingly, the new Extra Toasty :15 drove a soundly higher consumer intent rate, indicating that additional budget could be considered, if available, to expand reach:
- Viewer comments on “The Rug” reflected an appreciation for how successfully the spot conveyed new Information in a short, but surprisingly entertaining way. Many expressed their love for the brand itself, and the new versions/flavors regularly offered.
Sample comments on “The Rug” :15
“The bear was a bit cheesy but it was kind of funny. Maybe the bear was meant to be cheesy because it was a Cheez-It ad haha.”
Male 21-35
“I loved this advertisement because Cheez-It is a very nostalgic childhood snack for me and I think that many other people would find this advertisement entertaining as well. It brings them back to that time and era of life where we were all young and happy.”
Male 21-35
“I enjoyed this ad because I also do enjoy the food presented in it and the way new things continue to come out.”
Female 21-35
“Love all the different cheese wheel characters, they’re classic and I feel like everyone will recognize that the ads/commercials are Cheez-It ads/commercials just by the cheese wheel characters.”
Female 16-20
“I thought it was pretty funny and did a good job grabbing my attention. I also liked that it wasn’t too long.”
Male 36-49
“I thought the ad was fun and engaging as well as giving you information about Cheez-It Extra Crispy flavored products. The fact that the bear ate it was kind of funny because he should have very easily known that he was not lying on a rug.”
Female 36-49
“I love the unpredictable nature of the ad and how the Cheez-Its made the dude not even realize that he was sitting on a bear. Very creative.”
Male 21-35
“Very amusing and I like the product so may try this version one day as I see they have more flavors than I had originally thought.”
Male 50+
“It was short, to the point, and funny. Those are the best ads. Now I want Cheez-Its.”
Female 21-35
“I liked how they entertained me with the whole scene and were also able to get the brand name across while adding the different types they offer.”
Female 50+
“Honestly, I thought it was dumb. I’m sure humor appeals to some, but I had little interest in it.”
Male 21-35
“I thought it was a funny ad. It was super quick and to the point, just how I like ads. The talking cheese is always my favorite part.”
Female 16-20
- Like the Goldfish “Love You,” the new Cheez-It spot appealed to a wide swath of snack intenders:
- “The Rug” was most resonant among Caucasian and Hispanic viewers, while “Snap Out of It” appealed quite successfully with Black/AA viewers.
- Cheez-It maintained a #2 SOV among snack brands over the 30 days ending 7/13/25 both on linear TV and streaming per iSpot media measurement; however, “The Rug” did not receive measurable support in either channel:
- The most-aired spot on linear over this period was the :15 “Airplane” (launched in February, 2025), which accounted for 61% of brand Impressions.
- However, given a lower professed purchase intent, there is opportunity to move some of this support to the more convincing “The Rug.”
- The most-aired spot on linear over this period was the :15 “Airplane” (launched in February, 2025), which accounted for 61% of brand Impressions.
- The best received snack ads of the past year (ranked by overall Ace Score) saw variations in persuasiveness ranging from 63% Top 2 Box (Fruit by the Foot “One on One” :15) to 76% (Goldfish “Together” :15):
- While the Cheez-It :15 “Players Lot” from April (featuring NBA star Jimmy Butler and the Cheez-It cheese wheel mascot) was perceived as more Informative, new/a Change, and Relevant/relatable than the Extra Toasty spot, “The Rug” bested that ad a bit in driving intent – likely reflecting the benefit of the expanded product offerings.
Advertisers need to identify the creative that will drive business outcomes and ensure that in-market execution aligns against the highest potential ads.
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.