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By Kenneth Hein | US Editor

January 19, 2022 | 3 min read

Chart-topping rapper Megan Thee Stallion will front the first-ever Super Bowl spot for Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and Doritos. She joins the massive stable of stars that PepsiCo has already trotted out to promote its products in conjunction with Super Bowl LVI.

Let the Super Bowl ad celebrity onslaught begin. Frito-Lay today debuted its new teaser campaign for its Flamin’ Hot line of snacks starring popular rapper Megan Thee Stallion.

In the ad, Megan Thee Stallion shows up for her big Super Bowl shoot with a bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos in hand. To illustrate the epic nature of the commercial that’s being shot, the security guard asks her a few quick questions about allergies to deer, bears, foxes, water buffaloes and sloths, and whether she is comfortable around crocodiles. Megan Thee Stallion then exclaims: “A croc-a-what?” The spot concludes with the tagline: ‘Unleash your Flamin’ Hot.’

Megan Thee Stallion joins the crowded group of A-listers that PepsiCo has already announced will be promoting its products during, and leading up to, Super Bowl LVI including Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Peyton and Eli Manning, Jerry Rice and Terry Bradshaw.

PepsiCo went big with its sponsorship of the Super Bowl halftime show in what could be its final year as the headliner. It needs to decide whether to reup for future years for the sponsorship, which carries a reported price tag of around $50m. Jay-Z, Blige, Snoop and Lamar will share the stage this year, and Pepsi will launch an app that will help augment the experience.

Last week, PepsiCo launched the ‘Road to Super Bowl LVI’ ad with the Manning brothers, Jerome ‘The Bus’ Bettis, Terry Bradshaw and Victor Cruz all driving to the game. Along the way, they are compelled to stop and pick up a variety of PepsiCo drinks and snacks.

It also made news by bringing Lay’s potato chips back to the big game after a 17-year hiatus. The return was touted by Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, who promoted the limited-edition Golden Grounds. These special new chips are made from potatoes grown from soil taken from NFL stadiums.

Still, thanks to Megan Thee Stallion, the Flamin’ Hot line is currently commanding most of the heat from the Super Bowl spotlight. Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and Doritos Instagram accounts invited fans to take a stab at who would be featured in the new ad. Guesses included Cardi B, Saweetie and Danny Devito. It also launched its latest addition to the portfolio, Doritos Flamin’ Hot Cool Ranch, last month. Frito-Lay, the snack foods division of PepsiCo, rakes in $17bn in sales, per the company.

Megan Thee Stallion is clearly a rising ad star. She began appearing in a new Twitter billboard campaign yesterday as well. It features prescient tweets from rising stars about their dreams of fame. She's also promoted the popular fast food chicken chain Popeyes.

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