Translating a Global Attitude into Local Relevance

When global brands enter new markets, the challenge isn’t translation it’s transformation. Iraq’s digital landscape is vibrant, youth-driven, and fiercely expressive, but Cheetos had yet to claim that space. Known globally for its “Playful Mischief,” the brand needed a local voice that spoke the same language of humor, fun, and attitude. Our task? Build that voice and make Cheetos Iraq as scroll-stopping as its signature crunch.

Injecting Playful Mischief into the Iraqi Feed

While the Cheetos name was recognizable, it hadn’t built an emotional connection with Iraqi teens and young adults. Most saw it as a childhood snack, not a cool, craveable indulgence. WonderEight stepped in to bridge global equity with local relevance through a three-month always-on content plan for Facebook and Instagram fifteen snackable stories that re-introduced Cheetos as the fuel for fun.

The approach started with insight: in Iraq’s social culture, humor and self-expression are acts of rebellion. We used that insight to localize the brand’s mischievous personality into a relatable, witty tone that captured the everyday “me-moment.” Every piece from the punchy captions to the Arabic slang was crafted to make audiences smile, share, and crave.

From Global Equity to Local Flavor

We anchored the creative idea around Fun to Eat and Playful Release translating Cheetos’ global DNA into visuals and copy that felt authentically Iraqi.

Short, rhythmic reels blended appetite-driven visuals with cultural cues:
“Break the Glass” turned an emergency box into a metaphor for snack rescue.
“Flame Out” turned heat into humor.
“Tic-Tac-Toe” made Cheese vs Flamin’ Hot a game everyone wanted to play.

Each post was a burst of color, crunch, and chaos, designed to feel native to the feed while staying true to global brand codes Cheetle dust, orange palette, and Chester’s unmistakable swagger.

Chester Cheetah Meets Baghdad

Chester wasn’t just a mascot; he was our co-creator. Using a mix of global illustration and localized setups, we brought him into everyday Iraqi scenarios witty, confident, and always in on the joke. His cool, self-assured personality connected seamlessly with the region’s youth culture, turning him into the face (and attitude) of the campaign.

And to extend that mischief beyond the brand page, we collaborated with influencer Abbas Shibani, integrating him into select content moments that blended humor, local slang, and snack culture proof that global brands could laugh with Iraq, not just at it.

A Localized Voice that Crunches Loud

What emerged was more than a content calendar it was a cultural translation. We transformed a global brand asset into an Iraqi digital experience that felt spontaneous, witty, and real. The feed became a playground where every crunch sparked conversation, flavor rivalries, and inside jokes.

Beyond engagement metrics, the real success was in perception: Cheetos was no longer “the snack you grew up with.” It became the snack you grow with a symbol of youth, fun, and unapologetic self expression.
Cheetos Iraq now speaks the local language of laughter, attitude, and flavor—proof that when global mischief meets local insight, every bite becomes a story worth sharing.