Krista's Advertising Essay..ehh..

The bright orange unusually skinny cheetah has become a face recognized by most people in America; his name is Chester Cheetah.  This devious cat made his first appearance in 1986 as a cartoon character.  His writers and illustrators consider him a "hip cat."  Before long he captured our hears and his popularity grew.  Cheetos are a crunchy corn snack enjoyed by millions everyday but originally in Australia during the 1980s (http://www.smiths.com.au/student/cheetos.html).  Chester quickly became the face of Cheetos and is currently occupying that position today.

Good products like Cheetos will continue to strive.  like most anything in the world, advertisement changes looks, quality, and approaches to attracting new and maintaining consumers.  Chester is forced into always discovering new methods to keep his audience entertained and to keep the Frito-Lay product on the shelf.  The slogans "Dangerously Cheesy" and "The Cheese That Goes Crunch" are words often not far from the deceitful cheetah's mouth.  Chester is known throughout his commercials and even his appearance on Family Guy for being crafty and mysterious.  The plots of his most recent commercials focus on using Cheetos for an unintended purpose.  Examples of these behaviors include putting Cheetos in a dryer full of clean, white clothes or messing up a co-worker's cubical by leaving crumbs behind.  The Frito-Lay Company is constructively looking for original ways to leave a leasing impression on snack-goers; in my opinion it works.

 

The Cheetos commercials touch on a different aspects of the advertising trends.  The number one method the consumer notices is the suspensfulness f it all.  The commercials draw you in by demonstrating extreme measures and behaviors in different but realistic scenarios.  A particular commercial starring a high-maintenance, spoiled girl seems to be a perfect example.  The setting for "Spoiled Girl" takes place at a downtown cafe where a Cheetos enjoyer overhears a bad-mannered girl loudly discussing her unpleasant thoughts and ungrateful actions.  Chester of course isn't too far away plotting with the other women and talking her into throwing a pile of Cheetos on the ground by her feet.  The purpose is to attracted pigeons and eventually cause a scene.  Of course the cat was right and successfully manipulated another seemingly innocent person.

The overall theme of Chester's commercials sends multiple messages to the audience.  The commercial reaches out to those who are afraid to express themselves in a way that promotes bad behaviors.  Or perhaps to bully already bad behaved people to be more respectful.  The message comes across to the view and is followed up with not asking the customer to purchase the Cheetos but rather visit the website (cheetos.com) to see more.  I logged onto this sight to get a feel from the theme.  The website is drawn around the commercials including the friendly faces of victims, vandals, and of course the mastermind himself, Chester.  The website outlines the different stories and refers to them as "challenges" which is a word that inspires many consumers.

There are ongoing and pending arguments regarding whether or not Chester Cheetah had gone too far with this last approach to attract patrons.  Some argue he is overplayed by trying to fulfill too many roles over the last twenty-two years.  Some analyzers ponder how a "hip-cat" changed into a mysterious, complex character with dark motives (http://www.slate.com/id/2186601/).  I admire that advertising technique put forth for potential buyers.  The commercials are aimed for an audience with a dark sense of humor and I believe during these hard times a little laugh about a strange, quirky Cheetah is just what we all need.