It's not exactly the big, silver trophy that Stanley Cup-starved Torontonians want to see being proudly held aloft by a hockey-gloved hand. But for now, they're just going to have to settle for a big, bright orange Cheeto.
After debuting in the Alberta hamlet of Cheadle in 2022, followed by a stop at last year's Calgary Stampede, PepsiCo Foods Canada is bringing its Cheeto Statue to Toronto for NHL All-Star Weekend.
After debuting in the Alberta hamlet of Cheadle in 2022, followed by a stop at last year's Calgary Stampede, PepsiCo Foods Canada is bringing its Cheeto Statue to Toronto for NHL All-Star Weekend.
Located in Roundhouse Park, just steps from the CN Tower—before moving to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Feb. 1—the "hockey-fied" version of the statue features a hand clad in a Bauer hockey glove holding one of the puffed snacks.
Naturally, the Cheeto has also left the distinctive orange "cheetle" dust on the glove's fingers (you can see our extensive history of "cheetle," and how it came to be, here).
As one of its most distinctive and ownable brand assets, Cheetos has been leaning heavily on "cheetle" in recent months. In addition to the statue, the brand also partnered with Canadian MCU star Simu Liu on a campaign called "Sponsortips" in which it sponsored the star's fingertips. And only the fingertips.
Prior to that, it partnered with Rethink on a "life hack" timed for the Super Bowl called "Cheeto Hack," in which it provided consumers with a hands-free way to open their phone with “Cheetle Fingers.”
"This is a huge moment for the city and we wanted to create an unforgettable experience for fans to celebrate the return of NHL All-Star Weekend," said PepsciCo Foods chief marketing officer, Jess Spaulding. "With our hockey-fied statue, we want to continue to give hockey fans and Cheetos fanatics a memorable way to mark this moment and show the world how we All-Star."
Too bad it's only temporary, because it would for sure earn a mention on the list of Toronto's weirdest statues.
