Oreo cookies are a relatively new addition to UK supermarket shelves. The biscuit brand is something of an American classic, and while Stateside children have grown up learning to "twist, lick, dunk", kids in the UK were busy picking up Penguins.
It could be said that Oreo approached the UK market with stealth tactics. The brand was available in Sainsbury's stores for a few years, packaged in 'barrel' style cartons that were more familiar to British shoppers.
But now that Oreo has become an established brand in the UK biscuit market, the time had come to introduce the UK to the ritual of eating an Oreo. British biscuit fans were to be taught how to 'twist, lick and dunk'.
Oreo launched a family competition that encourages parents, children, grandparents and grandchildren to come together and twist an Oreo, lick off all the creme, show it to an opponent, dunk the biscuit, eat the Oreo and drink all the milk; the first one to finish the ritual wins the Lick Race.
The voice of the campaign is Stuart Hall, known to UK audiences as the presenter of the anarchic game show, It's a Knock-out.
The integrated campaign focuses on the interactive platform at oreolickrace.co.uk, where Lick Race participants are invited to upload their races and challenge others. People can also watch and vote for their favourite videos. Those with the most votes will compete in a live final in August, with the top prize being a VIP family trip to Florida. Daily and weekly prizes are also up for grabs on the website and for each video uploaded to the Lick Race website, Oreo will donate £1 to children's UK charity KidsOut, dedicated to bringing fun and happiness into the lives of disadvantaged children. The digital platform will be promoted with a TVC and online advertising campaign.
"Since we successfully introduced Oreo into the UK market in 2008; converting 1 in 3 households, now we're launching Double Stuff Oreo with our most integrated campaign yet," said Oreo marketing manager Nicola Wilkinson. "We're looking forward to mobilizing the nation and encouraging families from all over the country to participate at oreolickrace.co.uk."
Additional campaign elements to leverage the digital platform include PR by Weber Shandwick, experiential events by Closer, on-pack advertising by Billington Cartmell, and media by PHD.