In July 2024, an event in Mexico City called the Cheetos Cheesy Verse invited people to experience the Cheetos brand in person. The large installation, designed by PepsiCo, featured ten rooms, each with a unique theme. The concept was to create a fun, explorable space that represented the personality of the brand’s different snacks.
Each room was based on a specific Cheetos product, with distinct visuals and activities. For example, some rooms used hypnotic patterns and bright colors, while others were themed around concepts like Hollywood or sports. The overall project was a success, creating a memorable experience for visitors and winning an A’ Design Award for its interior and exhibition design.
Designer: PepsiCo Design and Innovation
The design here is so visually dense that it commands your full attention. Every surface is covered in saturated oranges, hypnotic swirls, or bold cheetah spots, creating a total environment that feels completely detached from the outside world. This level of immersion is a deliberate choice, engineered to produce highly shareable content. The entire experience is a meticulously crafted backdrop for social media, and that’s not a criticism; it’s a recognition of a very shrewd and effective design objective.
Executing on that objective is the hard part, and it’s where a lot of brands stumble. It’s one thing to have a mood board, but it’s another to translate the “personality” of Cheetos Poffs into a physical space without it feeling forced. The team got around this by anchoring each room to a strong cultural reference. The “Palomitaswood” concept is a perfect example; it’s a clever, immediate signifier for a Hollywood-themed popcorn room. It’s this kind of smart, efficient world-building that elevates the project beyond just a collection of cool-looking sets.
You can see this thinking in every detail. Visitors walk in, take photos against the incredible backdrops, and share them, effectively becoming the brand’s marketing department for the day. Look at the photo with the Shiba Inu; that’s a calculated nod to internet culture, designed to resonate with a specific audience. It shows a deep understanding of how visual trends propagate online, which is essential for making an investment like this pay off. This is what a modern marketing ecosystem looks like.
