An Unironic Reinvention Featuring Mayo, Mustard, and Frozen Snacks
In 2013, Snoop Dogg, the rapper, entrepreneur, and occasional reggae artist, took a brief professional detour into the frozen food promotional circuit. This pivot was not merely a typical celebrity endorsement. In full commitment to the cause, Snoop temporarily transformed himself into a different persona: the fictional, bespectacled, and conspicuously Caucasian ‘Todd’.
This character was introduced in a Hot Pockets commercial titled ‘Pocket Like It’s Hot’, a parody of his own 2004 hit single ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’. The ad features Snoop, or rather, Todd, decked out in a cardigan and sweater vest combo, rapping about microwaving pizza-stuffed pastries. He praises the gooey credentials of the snack’s interior with the same cadence previously used to describe luxury cars and fine cannabis.
Crucially, ‘Pocket Like It’s Hot’ does not exist in isolation. It is a fully produced, two-and-a-half-minute music video complete with choreography, guest appearances by YouTube personalities, and a verse contributed by hip-hop artist DeStorm Power. At one point, Snoop calmly raps the line “I’m a culinary gangster, a wrapper on a wrapper,” while standing beside a life-size Hot Pocket dressed as a hype man.
This collaboration did not emerge from a lack of options. At the time, Snoop had already released multiple platinum albums, acquired partial ownership of the professional eSports organization FaZe Clan, and was an ongoing fixture at Martha Stewart’s kitchen table. Despite this, he pursued the Hot Pocket initiative with the same level of focus typically reserved for Grammy campaigns and brandy launches.
The commercial’s commitment to authenticity is evident not just in its rhyme schemes and food puns, but also in its production values. There is noticeable lens flare. Snoop switches between himself and Todd depending on the verse’s nutritional theme. The video includes references to dipping sauces, snack-induced euphoria, and microwaving technique.
To date, the video has garnered over 10 million views and remains one of the most detailed microwaveable snack endorsements in recorded history. It serves as a reminder that Snoop Dogg, born Calvin Broadus Jr., is equally at home in a studio session or in an apron next to a cartoon sandwich.
No other rapper of his era has so effectively blurred the line between gangsta rap and quick-serve frozen cuisine. In doing so, Snoop has confirmed his place as both a cultural chameleon and the unofficial poet laureate of processed meat pockets.