Dive Brief:

• Frito-Lay unveiled a campaign for its Flamin’ Hot line of spicy chips that riffs on romantic affairs and includes a branded phone giveaway, according to a press release. 
• The marketer has partnered with Gabby Windey, of “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” fame, to hawk the Flamin’ Hot Burner Phone. The flip phone has a custom design and year of free cell service, along with Cheetos’ Chester Cheetah on speed dial.     
• As part of the integration, the mascot grants consumers a “hall pass” and will place a delivery for Flamin’ Hot products from other brands under Frito-Lay. The effort is targeted at college students who are entering cuffing season, a popular period for dating. 

Dive Insight:

Frito-Lay continues to extend the popular Flamin’ Hot brand beyond its origins under the Cheetos banner with “Cheat on Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.” The campaign has an edgy concept playing on the idea of pursuing an affair, complete with a burner phone for communicating with “sidechips,” a pun on “side chick,” or a woman that someone sees on the side. Chester Cheetah is also handing fans a hall pass, another slang term that refers to when a person gives their romantic partner permission to sleep with someone else, usually a celebrity outside of realistic reach. 

Frito-Lay is boosting awareness for other brands that sell Flamin’ Hot variants but are not as closely associated with the moniker denoting a spicier chip, such as Doritos, Lay’s, Fritos and Funyuns. Frito-Lay parent PepsiCo made Flamin’ Hot a standalone brand in March, looking to capitalize on $3 billion in retail sales momentum for the line. The move included introducing new packaging that more clearly distinguishes a Flamin’ Hot offering, with an emphasis on fiery chips against a black color scheme.  

“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, vice president 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” is part of Frito-Lay’s marketing to Gen Z, a cohort that has shown a strong preference for spicy foods and snacking. The group is in the thick of the back-to-school season, and with that, cuffing season, when young people seek out short-term relationships. 

Gen Z has also led a surge in nostalgic marketing for the 2000s, which helps explain why the campaign features a flip phone. Frito-Lay has enlisted Windey, a TV personality and podcast host, on giveaways of the device that will run on Instagram and through FlaminHotUniversity.com through Nov. 30. Curious fans can take a Sidechip Quiz on FlaminHotUniversity.com and browse dating profiles of different chips they may want to try out. 

Frito-Lay last year launched Flamin’ Hot University to serve as a centralized hub for content, merchandise and more dedicated to the brand with a cult-like following that recently inspired a feature film.