We’d already had fun tweaking high culture in our irreverent Cheetos campaigns. In 2017, we recognized the perfect place to up the stakes. The annual Restaurant Week in New York represented the epitome of fine dining and foodie culture.

This was the perfect space for Cheetos, with built-in media attention and plenty of highbrow fun to play with. Best of all, it gave us a platform to celebrate the flavor of Cheetos — which happened to be our secret weapon. After spotting some Millennials sharing unexpected and wildly unusual Cheetos recipes on Instagram, we realized exactly what the brand’s next surprising move could be: we’d make Cheetos-infused cuisine the “next big thing.”

So, we hijacked New York’s prestigious Restaurant Week in the name of fun and a snack food brand, and created the most coveted reservation in town: a table at The Spotted Cheetah, the world’s first Cheetos-themed restaurant. Seriously.

Our approach? Tease first, then over-deliver. Select media received save-the-date announcements for The Spotted Cheetah’s opening, and Cheetos-inspired recipes from our very real chef and menu curator, Anne Burrell (Food Network’s Iron Chef America).

National media exclusives were arranged the first week of August, while another teaser enticed brand fans on social media. USA Today announced The Spotted Cheetah to the world: For three nights only, anyone lucky enough could grab a table at New York’s most talked-about restaurant via Open Table. In six hours the place was booked with thousands on the waiting list.

We built opening day buzz by unveiling our Cheetos’ cookbook; staging interviews with Chef Burrell and sneak peeks of the restaurant’s extravagant Cheetos décor; and hosting a VIP preview dinner and “first-taste” segment on NBC’s TODAY show. Even dining’s premier publication, Food & Wine, exalted over the menu.

How real did the Spotted Cheetah get? The restaurant was so hot, it had to turn away celebrities and restaurant critics.

And all that talk had an effect: Cheetos-branded products enjoyed a 7.6% year-over-year national sales increase during the four weeks of the campaign.

In just 2.5 weeks, The Spotted Cheetah generated more than 4 billion overwhelmingly positive impressions.

Broadcast: 2,427 placements/186,088,732 impressions (TV: 1,506 placements /42,717,738 impressions; Radio: 921 placements/143,370,994 impressions)

Print: 145 placements/15,466,182 impressions

Online: 858 placements/3,306,048,691 impressions (Earned Online: 584 placements/2,902,987,999 impressions; Press Release: 274 placements/403,060,692 impressions)

Twitter: 176,348,134 impressions

Facebook: 382,782,496 impressions

Instagram: 71,294,249 impressions

YouTube: 515,173 impressions

Snapchat: 13,000 impressions

On opening day, #TheSpottedCheetah was trending on Twitter. Coverage leapt into the entertainment and business worlds, including The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Business Insider, E! Online, Popsugar, TODAY, and US Weekly. Food & Wine, People, and Buzzfeed delivered rave food reviews. @CheatDayEats shared her meal from beginning to end with 358,000 followers via Instagram. Consumers, media and celebrities clamored for a reservation, with Mariah Carey, Shay Mitchell and even several Victoria Secret models snaring a table. The Cheetos Cookbook was downloaded 13,000 times. Since, Cheetos recipes are increasingly popping up everywhere: from delis, to sushi bars, to movie theaters (anyone hungry for Cheetos popcorn?)

From playful snack to foodie phenomenon, Cheetos took a big leap as a lifestyle brand. The Spotted Cheetah left people wondering what Cheetos could possibly do next. Just the way we like it.