Does something have to be great to create buzz around a brand? For the first time, I can honestly say no. These cookies are beyond gross…and everyone agrees. But the secret flavor is so familiar we can’t stop trying to guess what it is. Maybe it’s because everyone likes a mystery, but this cookie flavor just went viral.
My office bribes each other for favors with Oreos – so naturally when the mystery flavor came out it made its way into our office. The news of their arrival spread like wildfire – everyone becoming their own Oreolmes. The taste – super familiar. So many different guesses – Orange, Fruity Pebbles, Key Lime Pie, Grapefruit, Fruit loops, Lemon Pledge (yes, the lemony clean furniture spray) – ultimately there is no consensus on what flavor it is. But we did all agree on one thing – they tasted awful. But that didn’t stop us from eating at least 4 and taking the box row to row and try to get others to guess the mystery flavor. We all submitted our answers and are waiting for the flavor to be announced.
This campaign is super smart. It’s a short competition that gives in
dividuals multiple entries for additional purchases or for additional engagement. Causing an explosion of their social media. Most of their feed (#Mysteryoreo) consists of people who just need to know that that favor is. My colleagues and I also took part in this behavior flocking to the internet to see what other food tasters said to help inform our guesses. Even Food & Wine wrote an article about the new flavor.
While most people agree that the flavor is awful, it was familiar enough make people share the experience. This viral campaign seems to check a lot of boxes when it comes to the rules of viral material. It’s a surprise that makes you think, creating a sharable response – verbally and digitally, it’s relevant, strikes the right tone and overall it got people to act. They only did one thing wrong – pick a flavor that didn’t actually taste good. Either way – it was a success.
Oreo has always been on the forefront when it comes to marketing – whether it’s the super bowl or the office. They always seem to keep it relevant, relatable, current and almost always – tasty.
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