You Might Recognize The Song From The Cheetos Super Bowl Commercial
Cheetos seems to have a formula down for Super Bowl commercials: music stars, uncomfortable social situations, and Cheetle ("that orange and red dust symbolic of true Cheetos fandom," says Cheetos). Last year, it was MC Hammer and "Can't Touch This" while a man evades all kinds of responsibilities for the simple fact that he has Cheetle on his hands from eating Cheetos Popcorn.
This year, the Frito-Lay brand has tripled down on the star power for its Cheetos Crunch Pop Mix. Revealed over the course of three ads, Hollywood power couple Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis deal with a serious relationship question: What do you do when you find your partner "orange handed" raiding your snack stash? And what do you do when they deny doing it? The answer lies in a single bit of advice from Shaggy (who appears in two of the ads) with his 2000 hit, "It Wasn't Me."
In a pair of teasers, "Evidence" and "Advice" (both on YouTube), Kutcher opens an envelope with photographic evidence and an empty Cheetos Crunch Pop Mix bag, which implicate Kunis in the disappearing snacks — something he suspected all along. Kunis, meanwhile, rehearses her best denial with some advice and coaching from a mysterious man in sunglasses and a sharp purple smoking jacket (spoiler alert: it's Shaggy).
'It Wasn't Me' in the final Cheetos Super Bowl Commercial
Finally, in the official commercial (also via YouTube) released this week, the entire story is put together. The commercial opens with Kutcher asking Kunis if she stole his Cheetos, again. Kunis knows she's been busted with Cheetle all over her fingers. Then, the camera pans to Shaggy who tells her to just say, "It wasn't me." That becomes Kunis' anthem with each of Kutcher's follow-ups. Many viewers will recognize that the man in the purple smoking jacket in the Cheetos commercial is Shaggy — it's the same purple jacket he wore in the original video (also posted on YouTube). Kutcher eventually accepts the "It wasn't me" line, and a puzzled Shaggy chuckles says, "Well, that's the first time that's ever worked."
Kutcher and Kunis say they turn down lots of Super Bowl commercials, but nostalgia played a role in accepting this one. "Mila and I both remember when 'It Wasn't Me' came out 20 years ago when we were first working together on That 70s Show, so it's really cool to come full circle with Cheetos, work together again and remix this song," Kutcher said in a statement posted at PR Newswire. And no Super Bowl commercial worth anything doesn't come with a social media component. Following Super Bowl Sunday, Cheetos will launch a TikTok challenge to create their own version of the commercial while singing "It Wasn't Me."