Oreo offers space travel

We live in a fast-paced world of “get in the grocery store and get out quickly” and run the aisles as fast as our feet can carry us because we’ve got to be late for something. However, on the other side of the proverbial coin, there’s the shopper that likes to peruse a grocery aisle from ceiling to floor even if it’s to compare the same product with perhaps a smidgen of difference in shape, size, taste or price.

Let’s use the example of Oreo cookies. I realize that I’ve written about the Oreo aisle before, complaining about too many choices that dull one’s senses. I promise that I’m not picking on Oreos, but I need to use them again for this column and you’ll see why.

Now I concede that Oreos are darn good cookies, especially with a glass of milk whether you dunk or not, and I may have had my share of them before the word “diet” was implanted in the reservoir of my brain. According to the Oreo website, they’ve been around for more than 112 years and the think tank behind its longevity strongly believes that the only way to stay alive in a choice driven society is to change something, anything, about it to be culturally relevant.

A little proof to support that? Today, aside from the usual Oreo sandwich cookie that we all grew up with as kids, Oreo offers peanut butter filled, toffee crunch, Java chip, mint, birthday cake flavored, chocolate crème, dark chocolate, golden sandwich and white fudge. That’s in addition to a thin cookie and double stuff varieties.

I was surprised there wasn’t a new and exciting Barbie Oreo or a Barbenheimer Oreo to commemorate this year’s Oscar nominations. But if you go back to 1997, there was an Oreo Fun Barbie special edition doll that came with a small package of plain, old Oreos, so it’s already been done. For collectors, it’s available on Amazon for around $45.

However, there is something new at Oreo. In an effort to stay culturally relevant, and deploying a strategy that is now boldly taking Oreo where no cookie has gone before, about two weeks ago, Oreo launched a new limited-edition line of Space Dunk Cookies. The cookies are stuffed with layers of blue-and-pink marshmallow-flavored “cosmic creme” and popping candies that, according to the hype, “create a supernova bursting sensation with every bite.” And, for the first time in Oreo history, the cookies also include a small cutout on the cookie itself, which allows fans to see the colored creme inside.

Now that’s a lot of sugar to get any mild-mannered kid jumping off the walls, but the main draw may be the prize you can win when you purchase a pack: a six-hour journey to the edge of space in a pressurized, luxury capsule propelled by a space balloon. In summary, the lucky kid will be able to dunk his space-themed cookie in a glass of milk while in space, or at least at the edge of it.

The experience will be powered by Space Perspective, the only carbon-neutral space tourism company that is currently booking consumer flights. According to Michelle Deignan, vice president of Oreo U.S., “It’s our first big, bold move of 2024 for Oreo.” She says that one of Oreo’s ongoing goals is to try to remain front and center in American culture. “Marrying the brand with things that are rich in culture to drive a lot of cultural conversation, I would say, is a key part of our relevancy strategy.”

And what could be more relevant right now than space travel?

“It’s very hot, topical — more and more companies are looking to get into it,” says Deignan. “At the heart of everything Oreo does is playfulness. We’re a playful brand,” she adds. “We thought, what is more playful than having someone dunk their Oreo in a glass of milk in space? It’s really about some of those worlds colliding, and it was the perfect opportunity to bring them together for us.”

Deignan says that staying on top of what’s popular in culture, and making sure that the brand shows up in ways that drive conversation, has been part of its success over the decades.

“Innately, partnerships like this bring the playfulness of the brand front and center,” she says. “I think it’s always important to think big and bold on a brand like Oreo because it has been around for so long and so iconic. As we and my team think about the brand and our activations, that’s how we think about driving the brand into the future.”

Oreo’s Space Dunk Cookies are available online at www.liftoff.Oreo.com. Customers can scan the QR code on the back of the cookie pack or simply visit the website in order to enter to win the spaceflight experience.

For a glimpse of the “aircraft,” visit https://spaceperspective.com. Winners of the Oreo promotion will travel in Spaceship Neptune, and according to the website, “It was developed to be the most accessible, most sustainable, and safest spacecraft on or above Planet Earth. It comprises the SpaceBalloon, Reserve Descent System and Neptune Capsule. Unlike all other spacecraft whereby the crewed compartment separates from one flight system mid-flight and transfers to another flight system, Spaceship Neptune’s capsule remains secured to the SpaceBalloon the entire flight from liftoff to splashdown, creating a seamlessly safe and gentle flight.”

The SpaceBalloon is a cool looking “ship.” Propelled by renewable hydrogen, with no rockets, rather than blasting off, it rises slowly at 12 mph, making it accessible to anyone medically fit to fly with a commercial airline. It’s also equipped with a backup descent system, or four parachutes situated between the capsule and the SpaceBalloon. The chutes are equipped to take over for the primary system “seamlessly and instantaneously” in the event of an emergency to assure a safe landing, according to the website.

The website says the parachutes have been used by space-faring agencies on more than a thousand flights with a 100% success rate. The capsule itself is awesome, with nine reclining, plush seats for eight people and a pilot. The site adds that seats “may be reconfigured to accommodate a special event, like a dinner for two or a wedding.” With 360-degree panoramic windows, there’s a refreshment bar and cabinet for belongings. And, of course, there’s Wi-Fi connection to enable live streaming.

A new wedding venue? For those not lucky enough to win a seat via Oreo’s promotion, you can still book a seat for $125,000 on Spaceship Neptune and the deposit to hold a spot is $1,000 per seat. You can pay via Coinbase, but it looks like credit cards are also accepted.

And you thought this column was all about cookies, didn’t you?