Before I begin, I have to say this: I never, ever wipe my food–grease–covered hands on my pants or shirt. Never. This applies to Cheetle, the gloriously messy, bright orange dust that coats your fingers when you snack on Cheetos. But there exists a group of people who do that, and for them, Cheetos came up with a brilliant idea that would make them less awkward. Like, anyone who does that would feel awkward.
Enter the Cheetos Pants, and yes, it is a thing—or rather, it was a thing, because they were snapped up faster than the actual Cheetos snack. These pants—or trousers in British English—solve the eternal dilemma of where to wipe your cheesy, ‘Cheetle’-coated fingers by incorporating towel-like patches on the thighs to let you wipe the Cheetle off your hands.
To make sure you are not noticed for your sloppiness, the wiping patches and the rest of the pants share the same bright orange, camouflaging any trace of Cheetle existence. That’s not all: they even have pockets sized perfectly for your Cheetos stash.
Now, here’s the clever part from a marketing point of view: the pants were released shortly after April Fools’ Day, making them sound like a prank—but they weren’t. Not surprisingly, it was a limited-edition drop and, you guessed it, sold out in a flash.
Cheetos knew that. And while the brand isn’t bringing back these snack-cred bottoms, it did offer to point you to other trousers “perfect” for your Cheetle-coated fingers. ‘Cheetle,’ btw, is a registered trademark of Cheetos. Anyhoo, the Cheetos Pants were priced at US$19.99, which is surprisingly affordable for something so overloaded with novelty.
But seriously, I hope those who bought them weren’t actually serious about wiping on their pants. Not 100% of the Cheetle will stay on the fabric; some will hit the floor, which is messy, attracts ants, and invites other pests. Perhaps a better solution would be snack chopsticks like SNACTIV, or maybe the Chip Fingers.
Images: Cheetos Pants.
Story via Instagram (@reputeforge).
