'Twist, Lick, Dunk' says Cadbury's Oreo biscuits

After the first burst of introducing the brand, the second leg of Oreo's campaign has introduced the concept of 'Togetherness time' in India.

With the launch of the hugely popular Cadbury Oreo biscuits from the Kraft Foods Group, India, in March this year, biscuit brands have a new, senior competitor.

The sandwich biscuit, launched with its global 'Twist, Lick, Dunk' communication, broke across media, including television, print, outdoor, radio, below-the-line, and digital.

The ritual referred to, is about twisting an Oreo biscuit open, licking the vanilla cream, then dunking the biscuit in a glass of milk, before relishing it.

The TVC depicting a playful prank between a father and his son, centred upon the biscuit's 'twist-lick-dunk' ritual, was taken forward in some hard-to-miss outdoors like the Oreo biscuit packets mounted on bus shelters. A mobile van also carried the 'twist, lick, dunk' communication, with a large fabricated glass of milk on the van where the biscuit can be seen moving up and down, making it seem as though it's being dunked into the glass. The outdoors have been handled entirely by agency Bates 141.

Discussing the creative idea and the TVC, Joe Thaliath, chief operating officer of Interface Communications, (the agency behind the campaign) says, "Research done by us pointed towards the insight that Indian mothers love to see their children bond with their fathers. It was also equally critical to establish the twist-lick-dunk ritual which the brand has owned for over 100 years, and uses across the globe consistently. That's where the current TVC came from."

Robby Mathew, national creative director, Interface Communications, says, "The childlike delight of twisting, licking and dunking an Oreo captures the simple pleasures, missing from our hectic lives. The ritual allows kids to be kids and parents to be kids, too."

The second leg of this campaign has introduced the concept of 'Togetherness time' in India. The concept was first introduced with India's first 'Togetherness Survey'. Conducted by AC Nielsen, the study revealed interesting facts about how Indian families viewed family relationships and family time.

The survey measured the 'Togetherness Quotient' of Indian families and encouraged them to pledge more time to their families, and kids. Conducted across six cities (Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata), the survey highlights how parents today, with their hectic work schedules, are craving for more time to spend extra hours with their children.

Soon after this survey, Oreo announced a series of initiatives to help boost parent-child bonding in India, the 'Oreo Togetherness Bus' being the most visible of them.

The 'Oreo Togetherness Bus' is currently running across the country, providing a platform for parents and children to catch fun family moments. Stationed at entertainment hubs of the city, the bus is loaded with fun games, photo opportunities, a cookie corner, and more. Anyone can hop into the bus with their kids to have fun, and try their hand at games. Radio, digital media and outdoor also continue to create awareness about the bus, giving to consumers regular updates on togetherness activities.

The bus is to travel across nine cities -- New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Pune, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mysore.

On the Togetherness Bus, Chandramouli Venkatesan, director -- snacking and strategy, Cadbury India, says, "This 'Oreo-time' on the bus, will engage parents and children across the country and provide them with unique opportunities to create memorable moments of togetherness. We aim to take this Oreo-time to millions across India, thereby encouraging family bonding by providing busy parents with a fun opportunity to spend time with their children."

While Oreo has plunged into a cluttered and fragmented Indian biscuit market, whether the scale of the 'togetherness' strategy and the viral effect of the twist-lick-dunk ritual lends the brand enough steam is to be seen.