• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, May 14, 2013

Having wrapped up a year of marketing celebrating its centennial, Oreo is onto its next creative push, with a major new campaign dubbed “Wonderfilled.”

The fanciful, animated, decidedly upbeat campaign -- Oreo’s first from The Martin Agency -- focuses on presenting humorous, imagined scenarios about how sharing an Oreo might transform negative outcomes into more positive ones.

The creative approach is intentionally childlike, but aimed at adults.

The first 90-second spot, which debuted on Sunday’s “Mad Men,” wonders if giving an Oreo to the Big Bad Wolf would inspire him to bring the pigs' “cool stuff” and help them build a deck, rather than blowing their house down (“Would they not get killed?”). It also wonders if a vampire given an Oreo would not act “so undead…Would he thirst for milk instead?,” and if sharks might opt to share their Oreos with baby seals.

The campaign’s catchy “Wonderfilled Anthem,” written by Martin Agency creative director Dave Muhlenfeld, is performed by singer/songwriter Adam Young, a/k/a Owl City. Young was chosen because his style of music “embodies optimism and a carefree nature,” according to Oreo parent Mondelez International.

The spot (which has 90-, 30- and 15-second versions) can be viewed -- and the theme song downloaded -- through Oreo.com. The spot and song are also on the brand’s Facebook page and YouTube. One day after its posting on YouTube on May 13, the 90-second version had more than 82,000 views.

The campaign aims to remind adults how a small thing like an Oreo can brighten their perspective, Oreo Brand Director Janda Lukin told CreativityOnline. "Kids already have a sense of wonder in how they see the world, but adults have to be reminded of that,” she said. “The stories are going to resonate with different people, but overall, it's an adult campaign.”

Launching the spot on the dark, cynical “Mad Men” provided contrast to drive home the point. The show was also chosen because it has a very loyal audience that is also very engaged in social media, Lukin said.

The campaign’s TV spots will run through September (new creative -- including new song interpretations by other upbeat performers -- to be introduced along the way).

Other components include digital and cinema ads, radio promotions to introduce the new Oreo song in the top 10 media markets, ongoing Facebook and Twitter engagement, public relations and some “big stage” events, according to Mondelez.

One such event took place today (May 14) in New York City, where more than 500 a capella singers -- including Pentatonix, winners of NBC’s “The Sing Off” -- sang the “Wonderfilled” song in locations across the city. The event culiminated with a sing-a-long with Owl City in Union Square. Oreo shared video highlights from the event on Vine throughout the day.

Oreo has enlisted local a cappella groups to stage similar events in Chicago and Los Angeles on May 16 and 17, respectively.

Other agency partners in the campaign are 360i (digital/social), Weber Shandwick (public relations) and MediaVest (media).

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