Cheetoschepard game
Cheetos turns an ad into a game the audience actually misses.
Q2 2024
awareness
interactions with Chepard
pp
ad recall
campaign
views
How do you reach a generation that despises ads and lives on Twitch?
Cheetos found the answer: stop interrupting them and become part of the fun. Instead of a classic campaign, the brand transformed its iconic mascot into Chepard - a virtual Tamagotchi for the entire Twitch community.
We had to adjust the entire approach , not just the message
Cheetos made a strategic decision to redefine its target group - moving from families to young adults. This meant building brand awareness from scratch, but doing so in an environment that actively rejects traditional advertising.
Challenge was twofold: how to preserve the brand DNA - fun, chill vibes, and mischief - in a space where any "fake" advertising intrusion is instantly rejected by the community?
We conducted a deep dive into the target group's behavior and uncovered a key insight: young adults don't just avoid ads; they actively seek experiences that blend gaming, community, and nostalgia.
The solution had to be more than just a campaign - it had to become a part of their daily entertainment.
Tamagotchi on 220 streams at once!
We developed a strategy built on four pillars:
- Unique gaming experiences
- Intelligent viewer engagement via branded content
- Brand consistency bridging the iconic Chester mascot with Tamagotchi nostalgia
Building the first ad-game companion for streams
The biggest technical challenge? Twitch offers no native capabilities for creating overlay games.
New Game + essentially "hacked" the platform, writing code from scratch and installing dedicated software on 220 streamers' PCs. This allowed for something unprecedented: a game running parallel to the stream, without disrupting the main gameplay loop.
Chepard: every streamer's
digital pet
We've created Chepard - a virtual cheetah inspired by Chester and the Tamagotchi mechanic. Viewers cared for him collectively using chat commands: feed, play, wash, teach tricks. Every interaction influenced Chepard's growth - he leveled up, gained skills, and evolved based on community engagement.
The brilliance lay in the details: Chepard wasn't just a passive ad overlay. He became a catalyst for interaction between viewers. If one viewer fed Chepard, others joined in to play or teach him tricks, all united by a common goal. When one viewer fed Chepard, others joined in to play or teach him tricks, all with a shared goal of helping him grow. The brand became a member of the community, not an intruder.
Natural brand presence
Chester (the Cheetos mascot) appeared occasionally, reminding viewers that Cheetos is the ultimate gaming snack.
The message was subtle and naturally woven into the game mechanics - it didn't interrupt the experience, it enriched it.
Viewers stayed during breaks to feed the cheetah
Chepard instantly became the community's adored virtual pet
Engagement didn't just meet expectations; it shattered them. The true magic happened during stream breaks, traditionally the moment of highest audience drop-off. Instead of tuning out or leaving, entire communities stayed tuned in to care for their pet. They collaborated on growth strategies, planned which tricks to teach him next, and debated his "needs" in the chat.
The revolution: an ad that viewers actually miss
The Cheetos Chepard Game set a new industry standard, flipping advertising from an obstacle into a desired feature.
The result wasn't just hitting 3.2 million views (100% KPI), but above all - authentic, organic engagement.
Success was confirmed by a 6 p.p. rise in awareness on Twitch and a massive 11 p.p. boost in Cheetos' image as a brand supporting gaming. Over 50,000 interactions with Chepard proved a crucial lesson: instead of stealing attention, the brand learned to earn it. The ultimate validation? Long after the campaign ended, chat logs were filled with viewers asking when their virtual Chepard would return.
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