Fans found the exhibits for Cheetos Museum inside their snack bags

A Cheeto resembling a cat could be worth keeping. In 2016, Cheetos invited Americans to inspect their snacks, find shapes that looked like something else and submit them to an official museum.

The Cheetos Museum collected photographs and stories of pieces resembling animals, objects, people and landmarks. Fans supplied both the discoveries and the interpretations that gave each exhibit its identity.

The campaign formalised a habit people already enjoyed. Spotting a familiar shape in an irregular snack became a reason to photograph it, name it and share it before taking another bite.

A photograph and a story made an entry

The summer competition accepted submissions from 31 May to 15 August 2016 through CheetosMuseum.com.

Participants sent a photograph of their unusual Cheeto alongside its story. That second element gave the object meaning. The entry depended on what someone saw in the shape and how they introduced it to others.

Ten weekly winners received $10,000 each. Four of the highest-scoring weekly winners then went to a public vote, with the overall winner receiving an additional $50,000.

The museum gave the entries a shared home, while the competition gave people a reason to search their own bags. Each purchase contained a fresh set of shapes to examine.

It also made imagination part of participation. The product supplied the irregular form, and the person holding it supplied the resemblance.

Grand Central gave the collection a physical address

The online museum reached New York’s Grand Central Terminal with a pop-up in Vanderbilt Hall on 21 and 22 September 2016.

More than 40 pieces went on display, including the four finalists and selections from the museum’s collection. Names such as “Birds In Paradise” and “Cheesemelion” carried the playful approach of the online entries into the exhibition.

The overall winner, “Hot Cheetos Cat,” was unveiled there. Found by Victoria Prado of Corpus Christi, Texas, it earned the $50,000 grand prize.

Displaying the pieces in a public exhibition extended the original invitation to look closely. Commuters and visitors could encounter the snacks as individual objects selected for their shapes, with names and stories encouraging a second look.

Every bag could supply another discovery

The campaign’s material came directly from the product. Cheetos’ varied shapes meant the collection could keep growing as people found new resemblances.

A submission began with someone noticing something small. The museum then gave that observation a title, an audience and a place beside other discoveries.

The progression from snack bag to online entry to exhibition kept that act of noticing at the centre. Fans did the finding, and their imagination determined what the museum had to show.

Credits

Cheetos Museum (2016). Brand Cheetos, Frito-Lay / PepsiCo. Market United States. Agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners. Co-Chairmen Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein. Chief Creative Officer Margaret Johnson. Creative Directors Jon Wolanske, Will Elliott and Patrick Knowlton. Copywriter Kurt Mills. Art Director Kyle Lamb. Production Caviar. Director Kristopher Belman. Post-production Company 3 LA and Whitehouse Post. Music and sound One Union. Marketing The Marketing Arm. Public relations Ketchum PR. Media OMD.