Frito-Lay wants Gen Z to cheat on their favourite snack

Cuffing season is upon us (if you live in the US, at least.)

And Frito-Lay wants you to find a side-chip.

The iconic snack brand's new campaign, 'Cheat on Flamin’ Hot Cheetos' encourages fans of their Flamin' Hot Cheetos to try their other spicy snacks, too.

Clearly, the brand is targeting Gen Z. and their love of all things spicy, and all things y2k. So in an effort to promote their full line of Flamin' hot snacks, Frito-Lay is giving away branded burner phones to a few lucky winners.

The customised flip phones come with a year of free cell service. They also happen to come with Cheetos' Chester Cheetah on speed dial. And Chester's giving customers a 'hall pass' to pursue the other Flamin’ Hot variants under the Frito-Lay brand.

Chester will then personally deliver a spicy selection to the winners’ doors.

To make this campaign even more fun, the brand has created a Sidechip Quiz, for those unsure of what side-chip they want to try first.

And to add some extra spice to the campaign, Frito-Lay has brought on TV personality and host Gabby Windey.

(You might remember her from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.)

'I love Cheetos Flamin' Hot, but take it from me - you can't reach your spiciest potential without trying different flavours and exploring your options,' says Gabby Windey. 'There is no reason to settle for just one flame when Chester is cool with you having hotties like Fritos® Flamin' Hot® and Funyuns® Flamin' Hot® in your rotation.'

The campaign aims to boost awareness for other brands that sell Flamin’ Hot variants, but don’t have the same level of recall that their Cheetos counterparts do. Brands such as Doritos, Lay’s, Fritos and Funyuns.

Frito-Lay’s parent company, PepsiCo, made the Flamin’ Hot brand a standalone in March of this year. They've created fun new packaging to make each variant more recognisable when paired with the Flamin’ Hot offering. The new branding includes an emphasis on fiery chips against a black background.

'While we love how many of our fans are in a committed relationship with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, the Flamin’ Hot portfolio is overflowing with spicy snacks,' said Tina Mahal, VP of Marketing at PepsiCo Foods North America, in a press statement. 'By offering numerous fiery options, Flamin’ Hot hopes to inspire its fans to be bold and explore every way possible to turn up the heat.'

'Cheat on Flamin’ Hot Cheetos' was designed to capture the Gen Z market. 

After all, they're known for their addiction to incredibly spicy food, from Fuego, Chamoy & Flamin’ Hot to Volcano and Samyang’s Buldak. The cohort are little fire feigns.

And that’s what makes this campaign so clever. Not only does PepsiCo know just how to market to this younger audience. The brand knows what to say, hence the borderline excessive use of relationship slang throughout the effort, such as 'Side Chips,' 'Hall Pass,' and 'Burner Phone.'

Even the burner phone itself being a flip-phone is a perfect tie-in to Gen Z’s obsession with all things y2k.

And while I do not on any level condone cheating under any circumstances, I’m always down for a little variation in my beloved snack rotation.

-Sophie, Writer

🎥 Catch our full coverage of Frito-Lay’s 'Side-Chip' Campaign → Frito-Lay Wants You to CHEAT? The Crazy 'Side-Chip' Stunt Explained