Oreo aims to prove its cookies are milk’s perfect match with new interactive barcodes

The new campaign, dubbed ‘Oreo Codes,’ leverages special offers for Oreo cookies – cleverly hidden in plain sight on every milk carton. Developed in partnership with VMLY&R Commerce, a creative commerce agency, the initiative enables consumers to simply scan the barcode on a milk carton – whether in the grocery store or at home – using a portal at oreocodes.com, to unlock a special discount.

“At Mondelez International, our team is always looking for new ways to innovate and create more opportunities to drive engagement of our brands with our shoppers,” said Steve McGowan, head of shopper marketing and strategic partnerships at Mondelez International, in a statement shared with The Drum. “Oreo Codes is not only a clever yet playful vehicle to drive purchase, but also demonstrates the importance of continuing to push greater engagement with our shoppers by leveraging new capabilities and reframing how our shoppers think and feel about our beloved brands at this strategic customer.”

Although the Oreo brand has an extremely high level of brand awareness in the US market, Mondelez is seeking innovative ways to “encourage incremental purchase occasions, while staying true to its playful side,” per a brand statement.

The campaign is the latest in a growing number of consumer packaged goods brand integrations with new technology. It also iterates on the increasing popularity of QR code-driven marketing and commerce.

“This idea marries technology and creativity in a way that drives memorable engagement for consumers with their beloved Oreo brand,” said Manuel Bordé, VMLY&R Commerce’s global chief creative officer. “It is thanks to brave marketers such as Mondelez that creative commerce has become infectious to the industry, creating a new type of energy around conversion that promises both brand impact and sales.”

Beyond tapping into the power of connected commerce, Oreo Codes aims to further cement the brand’s association with milk among consumers.

“As milk's favorite cookie, we are always looking for new ways to drive purchase and consumption of Oreo Cookies,” said Nick Henault, marketing director for Oreo at Mondelez International. “Oreo Codes is a wonderful expression of the playfulness that is the Oreo brand, and a prime opportunity to find new ways to engage with our audience. We're consistently striving for cutting-edge innovation that can help bring the Oreo brand to more consumers and in new shareable moments, and Oreo Codes will do just that.”

The regional offer, which rolled out Monday, is available across 180 Albertsons-owned Jewel-Osco stores in the Chicago, Indiana and Iowa areas.

To further promote the activation, Mondelez has tapped a handful of influencers, who will demonstrate to social media users how to begin scanning milk cartons to receive the special offer. Additional media buys across digital and out-of-home aim to expand awareness.

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