Frito-Lay-owned Cheetos is relying on both traditional mobile advertising as well as Apple?s iAd network to help get the word out about its new mobile gaming application.

The company is running the campaign through a variety of sites including People?s mobile site and Pandora?s iPhone app. Through the campaign, Cheetos is promoting its Massive Distraction game.

?Cheetos is a brand that unlocks the kid in all of us, and we are constantly looking for ways to connect with consumers in a playful way,? said Jared Drinkwater, senior director of marketing at Doritos, Plano, TX.

?More specifically, Cheetos helps unlock mischievous fun with our core ? millennial ?re-juvenile? parents ? and we felt gaming was a natural place to extend our conversation with them,? he said.

Mobile advertising
The Cheetos iAd includes several calls-to-action, one of which is ?Prepare for Mass Distraction. Two Games for the Price of None.?

When consumers tap on it, the ad expands to Apple?s App Store where users can download the app.

From there, consumers can also learn more about the app, view screenshots and see what other users have to say about it.

Furthermore, Cheetos is running traditional mobile banner ads, which only feature one message ? ?Download App to Massive Distraction. Free Games.?

By using both Apple?s iAd network and traditional mobile advertising, Cheetos is able to broaden its reach and interact with a variety of different consumers.

?Given the proliferation of mobile gaming, we think the odds of entertaining, delighting and connecting with our fans via an app are far greater than getting them to engage with a mobile Web site,? Mr. Drinkwater said. 

?Doing something fun by leveraging existing behavior feels more natural than trying to get folks to a branded Web site,? he said.

?We have started to beef up our Facebook presence and you will see us start to get far more active on Twitter, which we feel will cover all our bases when it comes to mobile engagement.?

Past efforts
Cheetos is no stranger to mobile.

In 2009, the Frito-Lay subsidiary in Mexico called Sabritas used a 2D bar code on a special Halloween version of Cheetos packages to engage consumers.

The code was placed on the Cheetos package and linked to free branded wallpapers (see story).

?We are currently running a major mobile media campaign to generate awareness for the app as well as drive instant download in addition to promoting the app launch on all of our social media networks,? Mr. Drinkwater said.