The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

-d -h -min -sec

Alien Brand Strategy Oreo

Oreo makes ‘offering’ to aliens ahead of US intelligence declassifying its UFO secrets

Author

By Kenneth Hein | US Editor

June 3, 2021 | 4 min read

Oreo gets the Starfleet medal for being one of the first brands to lean into the alien phenomenon that is gaining steam in the US. On June 27, the government is set to disclose information about ‘advanced aeriel threats’ and there is plenty of anticipation. Oreo has decided to commemorate the occasion with a new ‘offering.’

Oreo UFO alien offering

There may or may not be aliens, but there's always marketing.

There has been a steady drumbeat of news leading up to the release of US intelligence documents pertaining to unidentified flying objects. Unlike the past, the UFO headlines aren’t in the supermarket tabloids, instead they are in The New York Times and The New Yorker.

The crux of the story is the fact that on June 27, the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence is set to declassify this potentially Earth-shattering information about some of the unknowns within our universe.

Oreo took this dramatic moment to have a bit of fun with “The Oreo Offering.” The brand says it “is sending a sign of peace and unity to any extraterrestrials out there with a playful offering of earth’s No. 1 cookie.”

The stunt began yesterday with a Twitter poll asking fans to pick which cookie to share with the aliens. “It our duty to extend a peace offering to our extraterrestrial friends. But we need your help," it tweeted, alongside the hashtag #OREOOffering.

Today, Oreo released a video meant to show that the message had been received. The spot checks off all of the sci-fi stereotypes: Music a la Stranger Things. An homage to Close Encounters. And crop circles that M. Night Shyamalan would surely recognize.

The payoff is a call-to-action to receive a limited-edition ‘Offering’ package of Oreo cookies for free (if you don’t count the $3 for shipping.) The packaging reads: place Oreo cookie within center of the pack within clear view of the sky to create your own #OREOOffering.

“Whether you are a UFO believer or not, it is undeniable that a special connection forms over earth’s No. 1 cookie and a glass of milk!” said Olympia Portale, senior brand manager, Orea Equity in a statement. “With The Oreo Offering, we are ready to greet any lifeforms that might be out there. We’ve also created specially designed packs of Oreo cookies so our earthling fans can extend the olive branch to extraterrestrials at home too.”

Expect to see more UFO marketing stunt-related sightings on the horizon.

For more, sign up for The Drum's daily US newsletter here.

Alien Brand Strategy Oreo

More from Alien

View all

Trending

Industry insights

View all
Add your own content +