Oreo Celebrates 100th Birthday

The National Biscuit Company sold its first batch of Oreos on March 6, 1912—and as the cookie's 100th birthday approaches, its makers want the world to celebrate. Kraft Foods has launched an international campaign across media new and old, centered on a birthday-party theme and complete with special events and limited-edition Birthday Cake Oreos. "What we’ve really set out to do is something authentic for the brand, true to its roots, that is fresh for today," an exec tells the New York Times.

The campaign's slogan is "celebrate the kid inside," a theme that's illustrated in commercials featuring Oreos making drab adult activities fun. Kids bring Oreos to events like school board meetings, prompting the grown-ups to let loose. There will also be print ads and online celebrations on Facebook and at oreo.com/birthday. The notion of "Oreo moments"—in which people take time to "twist, lick, and dunk"—emerged in ads decades ago; as our lives get busier, the idea "becomes more and more relevant now, with every passing day," says a marketing exec. (More Oreo stories.)