Dive Brief:

• Oreo created limited-edition cookie packs as a peace offering for potential extraterrestrial visitors, according to details shared with Marketing Dive. "The Offering" product encourages consumers to place an Oreo at the center of the pack — marked by an electric-blue, elaborate glyph-like cookie design — and with a clear view of the sky.
• The social media-heavy promotion is tied to the release of a government report, commissioned by Congress, addressing unidentified flying objects (UFOs) in U.S. airspace. The declassified findings are due to be submitted by June 29 , according to ABC News, and have attracted widespread public interest.
• Oreo published a series of social videos around the product drop, while conducting Twitter polls to gauge the best snacks to share with any alien lifeforms. The Mondelez brand continues to leverage platforms like Twitter to tie its products to buzzy cultural moments. Oreo's partners on the effort include the community, MediaMonks, 360i and VaynerMedia.

Dive Insight:

Oreo is trying to tap into hype around a congressional report on UFOs scheduled for later this month, when intelligence officials will discuss declassified findings related to mysterious objects encountered in U.S. aerospace. Pop culture frequently equates UFOs with aliens, although it's possible that the reality of the situation is far more pedestrian than people are expecting. Still, interest in the upcoming report is palatable and gives Oreo a chance to get in front of consumer eyeballs during a potentially historic occasion.

The brand staked out a site on a farm in America's heartland allegedly famous for UFO activity as part of a social campaign teasing "The Offering." The first video depicts brand representatives named Robert and Jamie leaving out Oreo products on a curated pad as a gift to extraterrestrial visitors. In a follow-up post released this morning, the duo is startled to find the cookies gone and an Oreo-shaped, 3 acre-wide crop circle emblazoned on the ground.

To get consumers involved in the effort, Oreo conducted several Twitter polls asking followers which variant of its cookie and what type of milk should be given to alien visitors, as well as the best decor for the offering site. Double Stuf and whole milk won the snack part of the running, while consumers chose bedroom furniture as their preferred set decoration.

Oreo is now steering people to pick up its specially marked "The Offering" packs, which are free for a limited time on its website, excluding shipping and handling charges. Copy included on the packaging reads, "Not for sale. Totally for sharing," as well as "Bringing all lifeforms together." Consumers must submit personal information like their email address to complete their order, suggesting Oreo could be using the promotion as a way to accrue more first-party data.

Oreo's UFO ploy builds on recent efforts to connect the brand to closely watched news. Last year, it constructed a vault to safeguard its cookies ahead of a potential asteroid impact that was predicted for early November. The concept was inspired by — and located down the road from — the Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, Norway, which serves as a repository of many of the world's crop seeds and is built to survive in case of an apocalyptic event.