In a universe of infinite possibilities, there was perhaps only one way that noughties Canadian pop-rock band Nickelback would release a collab with recent pop-rap titan Megan Thee Stallion.

But here we are. The year’s most unlikely link-up has landed in the form of ‘Pickle’s Back’, a duet that brings in a third, equally misfitted, collaborator: Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Dill Pickle.

The music-video-slash-TV-spot purports to be based on an “incredible almost true story” of how Ms Thee Stallion “got her pickle back”. It depicts the rapper filming a music video and demanding her favorite potato chips – Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Dill Pickle – only to be misunderstood by a PA who brings her, instead, the Canadian almost-rock band Nickelback.

The pair go on to star in a commercial-within-the-commercial for the snack brand. What follows is truly deranged: Megan and Nickelback perform a bank heist to liberate stores of the chips; they’re chased down by Cheetos mascot Chester Cheetah; their getaway vehicle explodes in a cloud of “Cheetos dust” (known by the brand as “cheetle”), which Megan surfs over to safety (while, of course, twerking).

It’s all to the tune of a collaborative parody of Nickelback’s ‘How You Remind Me’, first released back in 2001 (it went on to become the most played song of that decade).

On-screen Cheetos execs are convinced by the stunt to bring back the brand’s Flamin’ Hot Dill Pickle flavor. The latter mirrors the brand’s recent reality: a limited-edition return for the flavor recently became the fastest-selling in the brand’s history, leading to this relaunch (alongside the launch of a new chip, Flamin’ Hot Dill Pickle Puffs).

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Alongside the four-minute spot – directed by award-winning Dave Myers, working with agency Gut Miami – the Pepsico brand is launching a raft of behind-the-scenes content on social and is set to auction off props from the video itself in aid of Megan’s charity the Pete & Thomas Foundation and Nickelback’s All The Right Reasons Foundation (named for its 2005 album).

Megan said: “It was only right for the Hot Girl Coach to team up with Cheetos to bring back the iconic, Flamin’ Hot Dill Pickle flavor. Everyone knows I love to stuff pickles with Cheetos Flamin’ Hot, so it’s really special to now be part of the campaign to relaunch one of my favorite combinations.”

For Nickelback, it was a “10/10 experience, would absolutely do it again.”