• by Tanya Gazdik , April 8, 2025

Last week, Flamin’ Hot met Preparation H in an outrageous "Saturday Night Live" commercial parody starring comedian Jack Black. 

Fast Company called it a “match made in comedy heaven” and “brand spoof brilliance.”

Black joined Cheetos mascot Chester Cheetah “for a commercial selling a twist on a familiar product,” according to Deadline. “Voiceover sets the stage for what is just 'another ordinary party.’ Black (as ‘Stuart, Flamin’ Hot Freak’) then kicks the door down and takes over the party, with Chester in tow. We cut to a plate of mild wings, with Stuart insisting, ‘Mild? I ain’t no child. I need it wild!’ and drenching them in buffalo sauce.”

That’s where things take an unexpected turn. Chester talks about how “all that in-your-face flavor can really mess up your butt. Inflammation, swelling, painful irritation. You need fast relief. You need the cooling touch of Preparation H.”

But Stuart vetoes regular Preparation H, introducing a new hemorrhoidal ointment called Flamin’ Hot Preparation H, which promises “20,000 Scoville units…packed into an easy-to-apply dark red cream.” 

He goes on to demonstrate how to use it, much to the dismay of Chester and the other partygoers. 

“Over the past decade, we’ve seen Cheetos and its Flamin’ Hot flavor brand pop up in some fun and unexpected places,” according to Fast Company.  “There was the Spotted Cheetah pop-up NYC restaurant in 2017. The Hollywood pop-up with chef Roy Choi in 2018 called the Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Spot. A taco at Taco Bell. There was a Forever 21 apparel collection in 2019. A nail polish with Dipwell. A Dr. Squatch soap. And, of course, a pair of Crocs. Parent company Frito-Lay has sprinkled Flamin’ Hot across products like Doritos, Ruffles, Lay’s, Funyuns, Smartfood, and even in a limited edition of Mountain Dew."

It’s doubtful either brand had any input into the sketch, but as the age-old saying about publicity goes: “I don’t care what they say about me as long as they spell my name right.”

The nearly 2-minute long skit has been “liked” more than 293,000 times on @NBCSNL’s Instagram and it’s been viewed over a million times on "Saturday Night Live"'s YouTube channel. 

“The April 5 Host horrified Chester Cheetah by putting the orange spicy stuff in the worst possible place,” according to NBC.  “'Oh, Stuart, come on. You're scaring me, man,’ Chester says, declining his friend's request to ‘Help me spread it around.’”