Cheetos is taking its brand in a new direction with a high -end fashion line and luxury-oriented digital content, all housed in a mobile microsite hub that acts as an anchor for the whole campaign.

The campaign is centered on Cheetos Store, an online and mobile store where customers can purchase Cheetos-branded clothing and view digital content The entirety of the campaign, in addition to being spread on social media, is hosted through a mobile microsite that acts as a hub for the promotion. 

"In this season of surprises, we have yet one more,? said Jeff Hasen, founder of Gotta Mobilize and author of The Art of Mobile Persuasion. ?Clearly, I think, there hasn't been a large calling for Cheetos wear. 

?But it's a novelty, gets people talking and satisfies the yearning of some - or maybe one. 

In recent years, Cheetos has become known as much for its comedic marketing campaigns as for its classic catchphrase of ?dangerously cheesy.?

The brand is continuing that trend with its newest campaign that puts Cheetos-branded clothing on the runway ? presumably with tongue-in-cheek.

Runway models strut down the aisle in a cheetah suit or leggings covered in Cheetos bag print in the campaign?s first video.

While these pieces seem to be created for comedic purposes, Cheetos is also selling them through its mobile microsite.

The microsite, housed at cheetosstore.com, acts as a hub for the entire campaign, letting customers see content related to the campaign, make purchases and view updates when new videos or images are released.

The campaign also seems to be an attempt to capture the, likely rare, crossover between people who eat Cheetos and people who are willing to spend $20,000 on a pair of earrings.

The product descriptions are written from the point of view of the brand?s mascot Chester Cheetah, who features prominently in the promotional videos. 

Given the price of the products and the almost non-existent overlap of demographics who would be interested in both Cheetos and five-figure jewelry, the campaign is almost certainly meant to be taken humorously, as much of th ebrand?s marketing campaigns have been.

But the one thing that is not a joke is the brand?s use of mobile microsites as a hub for a large marketing promotion, housing all the necessary components under one portable roof.

Other brands such as Taco Bell have made use of mobile microsites for their campaigns, such as the one the taco chain created for its National Taco Day promotion earlier this year, which gave access to all the relevant content, shareable e-cards and access to social media, all through the lens of the mobile site (see story).

Other brands, such as California Pizza Kitchen, have made the microsites themselves the focus of the campaign. The brand celebrated National Pizza Month with a mobile microsite that also housed a scavenger hunt where consumers had to click on hidden pizzas throughout the site in order to enter and win a contest (see story).

These microsites provide an anchor for a larger, multi-part campaign, such as the one being run by Cheetos, and let them provide customers with a wide variety of content and appeals while keeping everything centered on the mobile device.

Assuming consumers can get behind that conceit, concerns over the price or taste in a cheetah bodysuit are moot.

?There are all sorts of social opportunities, assuming people want to be caught, err shown, in these 'fashions?," Mr. Hasen said.