The idea for this campaign came straight from parents on Twitter complaining about kids stealing their cookies. So, we decided to give them exactly what they needed, a real solution to protect their cookies, and we brought it all back to where it began, on social media. With real camo-pack up for grabs, we asked the internet to share their best cookie hiding spots using #thinsprotectionprogram. After thousands of submissions, 3,000 lucky cookie lovers got limited-edition packs. Between PR, social, influencers, and perfectly hidden packs, this became the most successful campaign in the history of the THINS brand.

OREO THINS were up against awareness issues. Our brief was to establish OREO Thins as a cultural icon in its own right, while weaving in the holistic OREO “Stay Playful” messaging. While the holistic OREO brand is all about making kids happy, THINS, because they’re thinner and lighter, are the perfect OREO for adults. So our objective was to create a campaign for adults, with packaging at the center—3,000 packs limited edition packs—and the right content and story to live across multiple channels and engage fans.

After seeing parents complain on Twitter about their kids stealing their OREO Thins, we knew we needed to take drastic measures to protect their cookies.

We partnered with four brands to create 3,000 limited-edition camo-packs disguised as stuff kids would never go near. While it might seem backwards, to raise awareness for THINS, we gave half of the visual and branding on the pack to brands that have nothing to do with cookies.

The side of each pack looked like something completely different than a regular old pack of cookies—a Better Home & Gardens cookbook for your kitchen, a pack of Green Giant frozen vegetables for your freezer, a Ford Owners Manual for your car, and a box of Hanes T-Shirts for your drawer. Each pack was created to be hidden in a different room or space, so parents had a choice according to their personal cookie-eating needs.

Because they’re thinner and lighter, THINS are the perfect OREO for adults. So to bring attention to THINs, we honed in on a behavior we saw on social media—parents complaining about kids stealing their cookies. Our approach was to give OREO followers exactly what they were asking for, protection for their cookies, in a fun and unexpected way. We partnered with four brands that have nothing to do with cookies, four brands that a kid wouldn’t recognize and thus, not be interested in—Better Home & Gardens, Green Giant, Hanes, and Ford. We gave them half of our pack so our cookies would be perfectly camouflaged among books, veggies, and more. And by kicking off the idea with relatable celebrity parents Kevin and Danielle Jonas, there was an immediate connection to the idea, and a call to action for parents to share their best hiding spots.

The hero element for the campaign was the four, custom, limited-edition camo packs, created in partnership with each brand. The camo side of the packs had to be authentic to each brand, so we brought in 3D artists and worked with each brand's logos and guidelines to mimic the real items, just on an OREO pack, from frozen veggies to a pack of t-shirts. To balance the camo sides, the rest of the pack had to look, and legally follow FDA and OREO guidelines. The packs were printed in the OREO print shop.

The campaign ran on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok with gifs and in-situation images to show how they worked to perfectly protect your cookies. Along with celebrity influencers, we asked parents to share their hiding places using #thinsprotectionprogram, for a chance to win one of the 3,000 exclusive packs and a sweet $25K sweepstakes grand prize.

By hiding the product, we ended up making Thins more visible than ever. The THINS Protection Program was the most successful campaign in the history of the THINS brand. And we gave parents a safe way to eat their cookies while successfully repositioning Thins as the OREO for adults. And ONLY adults!

While the campaign was running, we bantered with 43 different brands who shared their own hiding places. And brands like Axe and Xbox even created ads just for us.

All in all, the campaign earned 8.5M+ organic impressions, 271 media placements, 800K+ social engagement, and increased THINS mentions by 1,019%.