Cheetos ‘Dust’ has been immortalized by a huge statue that débuted last week in its namesake town. It’s not clear whether the idea came from Pepsico Canada or the Town of Cheadle, but the 17 ft. / 5 m sculpture is already the stuff of legend…
You can’t miss it
The statue is based on a simple concept: three giant uplifted fingers emerging from the earth, holding a mammoth Cheeto, complete with a scary-realistic looking coating of Cheetos Dust. The connection with the town, in Alberta’s Grain Belt, is a sound-alike of the place’s name with ‘Cheetle’, the official trademarked name of Cheetos Dust. Seems the stuff is almost as iconic is as the cheddary pillows themselves.
“Cheetos fans have always known that the delicious, cheesy dust on their fingertips is an unmistakably delicious part of the Cheetos experience, but now it officially has a name: Cheetle,” Lisa Allie, the Senior Marketing Director for PepsiCo Foods Canada, said in a statement. “We’re excited to be celebrating Cheetle and Canadians’ cheesy, Cheetle-dusted fingertips on such a grand scale and in such a uniquely mischievous way.”
Like any major hit, going on tour
The Cheetle Hand Statue will be located at 400 Railway Avenue in Cheadle now through Friday, November 4. Visitors are being encouraged to take a lot of photos and post ’em, tagging the @cheetoscanada Instagram account. Both Pepsi and Cheadle want folks to pepper the internet with the hash tags #CheetleinCheadle and #ItsaCheetosThing. to maximize the promo effect of the project.
After that, the thing will go on tour across the country.
“Cheadle is proud to be home to the Cheetle Hand Statue. Where else could the Cheetos brand honour the iconic Cheetle, if not here?” James Gosteli, the Cheadle Community Club President said. “While our residents will be the first to see the unique monument, we can’t wait for the rest of Canada to see it for themselves!”
Drawbacks?
Will Pepsi and/or Cheadle have to budget for a maintenance person to refresh the Cheetle dusting after every rainstorm?
Will selfies and other genres of photos spawn huge memes in the ‘snacks’ realms of the internet?
Will the places where the statue touches ground in its cheesy progress along the tour route become famous, if only tremporaryily, for hosting the thing?
One thing is for sure…
We sincerely hope the statue will eventually come ‘home’ to make Cheadle its final resting place!
~ Maggie J.