Oreo is pulling out all the stops and inviting fans to join its mission to deck the halls early.
While holiday decorating typically doesn’t start until after Thanksgiving (23 November), this year, the Mondelez-owned brand is not waiting to get into the holiday swing.
In the spirit to spread holiday cheer and create neighbourly connections all season long, Oreo is on the lookout for standout decorations - up well before Thanksgiving - and will be dividing $100,000 in Holiday Oreo Allowance (HOA) prizes among 100 lucky fans.
“The Oreo brand is always looking to help our fans and their families create playful connections, and there’s no season that brings people together more than the holidays - so why restrict the merriment by waiting until after Thanksgiving to decorate?” said Vishnu Nair, senior brand manager.
“With the Holiday Oreo Allowance, we are calling on our most festive fans to join us in bringing the magic of the season to life extra early this year.”
For a chance to win a $1,000 ‘allowance’, fans must follow @OREO and share a photo of their current holiday decorations on either Instagram or Twitter/X before 17 November, using the campaign hashtags #HolidayOREOAllowance and #OREOSweepstakes.
Winners will be chosen at random to receive an HOA Welcome Kit, including the $1,000 allowance, Oreo cookies and a yard sign that proudly declares them a member of the Oreo HOA.
Fun facts
Over 60 billion Oreo cookies are sold each year in more than 100 countries around the globe each year; more than 20 billion of which are sold in the US.
An estimated 500 billion Oreos have been sold since the biscuit was developed in 1912.
The origin of the name is unknown, but some believe it comes from the French word for ‘gold’ or the Greek word for ‘nice’.
In addition to the traditional chocolate wafers separated by a crème filling, Oreos have been produced in a multitude of flavours, ranging from banana split to churro-flavoured, orange ice cream to strawberry frosted donut.
It’s that time of the year when everyone’s obsession with the thermostat is turned onto high.
A recent survey - conducted by Wakefield Research on behalf of Hot Pockets - found 55% of parents have disagreements with their children over the thermostat. Of those parents, 83% said their kids have changed the thermostat against their wishes. In fact, 220 million TikTok views with more than 352K engagements paint a vivid picture with strongly-worded notes, plexiglass lockboxes, security cameras and thermostats that were secreted away to locked rooms.
Which is why Hot Pockets is asking everyone to chill.
Until 15 December, the Nestle-owned brand of microwaveable turnovers that contain cheese, meat or veggies is inviting fans to turn up the heat for a chance to win $500, along with a month’s worth of Hot Pockets.
“The cultural conversation around dad’s obsession with the thermostat is constant,” said Bryan Waddell, brand marketing manager.
“Hot Pockets is paying people to put away their strongly worded notes in exchange for some help with the heating bill, or some enjoyment, this holiday season.”
Head to the Hot Pocket site to enter before 15 December at 11:59 pm ET.
For those looking to be the hero of their Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving celebrations this month, Paris Baguette is offering an elevated take on dessert.
Handcrafted onsite by master bakers, the fall-themed cakes are guaranteed to impress and are available at bakery-cafés across the US until 28 November.
The lineup includes a Pumpkin Spice-Mocha Chiffon Cake, a Caramel-Pecan Soufflé Cheesecake, a Cookie Butter Crunch Layer Cake and a Pistachio-Raspberry Trifle Cake.
Every Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving cake purchased before 11 November will earn double points for Paris Baguette Rewards members.
Paris Baguette also offers a range of other tasty snacks for the Friendsgiving and Thanksgiving celebration, including the Cookies & Cream Mochi Donut, Cranberry Pecan Baked Brie Pastry and Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Stuffed Croissant.
With a projected 1,000 bakery cafés in the US by 2030, there shouldn’t be a Paris Baguette outlet too far away. On a mission to reestablish the neighbourhood bakery café as the heart of the community, the brand is spreading joy one bite at a time.
The PepsiCo-owned tortilla chip brand has introduced the world’s first ‘crunch-cancelling’ tech that lets PC gamers enjoy their favourite snacks without distracting other players.
Research shows 46% of gamers in the UK dislike the sound of other people eating, while in the US, 30% complain the crunching impacts their performance. However, like love and marriage, gaming and snacks go together - even though 68% of Portuguese gamers and 64% of Spanish gamers rank crisps or chips as the ‘loudest’ and most irritating noise-wise.
A whopping 85% of gamers across the globe - primarily millennials and Gen Z - consistently choose Doritos as their snack of choice - best loved for their noisiest crunch.
The crunch is a key reason consumers love Doritos. With this new 'crunch-cancellation technology,' Doritos gives gamers the ability to continue enjoying the crunch without disrupting their fellow players' performance.
“The connection between Doritos fans and the gaming community is undeniable,” said Fernando Kahane, global marketing head for PepsiCo.
“Both boldly and unapologetically embrace their individual flavours. Doritos Silent recognises this bond and demonstrates the brand’s continued commitment to innovation and elevating the experience for gamers who choose Doritos.”
Designed in partnership with Smooth Technology, the tech took six months to develop and involved the analysis of more than 5,000 different crunch sounds.
“Working with Doritos to create this cutting-edge technology has been an incredible journey,” said Dylan Fashbaugh, lead developer and co-founder of for Smooth Technology, a one-stop creative engineering and design studio based in Brooklyn, New York. Led by industry veterans Fashbaugh, Sachem Arvidson, James DeVito and Dave Sheinkopf, their combo of cutting-edge tech and artistic sensibility allows the company to create outstanding interactive experiences for some of the world’s biggest brand names.
“We all know that gamers love Doritos, but that unmistakable crunch can often disrupt those intense gaming moments. With Doritos Silent, we’ve worked to ensure gamers can enjoy the crunch of Doritos without disturbing their fellow players, making for a better gaming experience.”
Doritos has teased the idea of ‘making Doritos silent’ with social media and out-of-home ads that featured Doritos chips in-place of noise-cancelling headphones. The ads - which flighted in the UK, US, Spain, Poland, Brazil and Portugal - promise that ‘you won't hear it coming’.
Download Doritos Silent for free.
The Doritos survey was conducted by market researcher ONePoll at the beginning of October among 200 gamers in each market: China, India, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and the US.
It will soon be ‘the most wonderful time of the year’ - but also the messiest with everything from the run-up to festivities to glittery gift chaos to clean up.
To ensure that even this most mundane of tasks gets a festive twist, Eggo and Bissel have teamed up to create the EggoVac - a first-of-its-kind waffle-inspired robotic vacuum. It’s designed to look like everyone’s favourite waffle - and makes cleaning almost as easy as making a toasty Eggo waffle - but inside its actually a modified version of the Bissell SpinWave R5, the floorcare expert’s most innovative robotic cleaning machine.
The EggoVac provides 110 minutes of hand-free 2-in-1 cleaning, vacuuming and mopping at the same time. Powerful suction picks up dust and debris for easy daily vacuuming and when in mop mode, the spinning pads scrub sealed hard floors to remove messes.
Additionally, it utilises 360° LiDAR tech - advanced home mapping and navigation - along with soft surface avoidance sensors. This means the robot will automatically avoid carpeting to ensure rugs stay dry.
The EggoVac really means you can l’eggo of the post-holiday cleanup stress and is easy and safe enough to operate for little hands to get in on the action.
The limited edition EggoVac is on sale for $150 - 70% off the standard Bissell SpinWave R5! - and comes with enough Eggo waffles to fill your freezer (that is, up to $50 worth of Eggo waffles). A portion of sales will also go to the Bissell Pet Foundation, which is on a mission to find homes for all domestic animals across North America.
The offer ends 31 December or while supplies last - but we’re sure this one won’t dally around for long.
The Elf on the Shelf has been a Christmas-time tradition for millions of families for almost two decades, with more than 25 million The Elf on the Shelf Scout Elves, Elf Pets and Elf Mates adopted all over the globe.
This holiday season, Pillsbury is hoping to ramp up the joy and has partnered with The Lumistella Company to launch three limited edition Funfetti The Elf on the Shelf cookie mixes - Sugar Cookie Mix with Candy Bits, Hot Cocoa Cookie Mix and Sugar Cookie Mix with Peppermint Candy Cane Sprinkles - available until the end of December.
“Funfetti has been inviting families to share in the joy of baking delicious treats together at home for the holidays so we are excited to be partnering with the iconic Christmas brand to launch Funfetti The Elf on the Shelf Cookie Mixes,” said Dan Anglemyer, chief operating officer for Hometown Food Company.
“Knowing cookie mix sales spike across November and December, as families come together to celebrate the holidays, it was only natural to combine the enchantment of everyone’s favourite mischievous Scout Elf with the delightful taste and fun of Funfetti. These limited-edition holiday cookie mixes promise to bring a magical mix of flavours and festivity to create memorable moments for the whole family in the kitchen.”
Added Helen Brandfield executive director of Licensing for The Lumistella Company, “Funfetti The Elf on the Shelf Cookie Mixes are the perfect sweet treats for the millions of families that celebrate The Elf on the Shelf tradition.
“We all know how much Scout Elves love cookies. And what says Christmas cheer more than festive cookies? We are pleased to partner bringing merry and bright moments to families this holiday season.”
The cookie mises are available in seasonal and baking aisles across the US for an RRP of $2.50 to $5.00 per 15oz box (makes 30-34 cookies).
Black-owned, female-led Partake Foods has brought back its two limited edition holiday cookies to ensure that everyone can celebrate the holiday season.
Both cookies are gluten-free, vegan, top 9 allergen-free and non-GMO, making them a safe and shareable snack for everyone. The Crunchy Holiday Sprinkle cookies are made with vanilla and festive red and green sprinkles, while the Soft Baked Chocolate Peppermint cookies combine the flavours of cocoa and peppermint with a chewy texture.
Available Whole Foods Market, The Fresh Market and Wegmans across the US, as well as on Amazon, for an RRP of $5.49.
Edible arts disruptor Fancy Sprinkles is bringing a dash of sparkle and sass to Walmart's baking aisle. The popular D2C brand has won a listing in 3,200 Walmart stores and online for seven of its limited edition holiday products, with more to come in 2024.
The Fancy Sprinkles Holiday collection is the first of three seasonal collections, including:
- Fancy Edible Glitter Packets: Mistletoe Magic and Pop The Bubbly
- Cocktail Decorating Kits: Jingle Juice and All That Glitters
- Dessert Decorating Kits: What the Elf, If Looks Could Chill, and Reindeer Games
“Our goal has always been to bring our premium products at an affordable price to the masses, and with Walmart, we now have that opportunity,” said Kiley Anderson, CEO of Fancy Sprinkles.
“We’ve experienced strong growth over the past few years, which confirms that consumers crave the ability to make their food and drink more creative and eye-catching in today’s content-driven world.
“There is a whole world of edible artists, whether they know it or not, who now have much easier access to the best edible arts products in the market, now at Walmart bake centres and Walmart.com.”
