Behind The Design: OREO + Lady Gaga Packaging With Purpose

By: Martin Agency Director of Brand Purpose Communications Doug Zanger

OREO is a brand perpetually on the lookout for bops.

Well before its limited-edition Lady Gaga cookie release, OREO orchestrated the world's first song drop on a cookie with Wiz Khalifa (custom music boxes blasted the full track off the cookie and a karaoke version from the creme). Amid frustrations of the Latin Grammys snubbing reggaeton, OREO filled the void with an original song from Becky G, who would later help the brand kick off its #CookieWithACause initiative helping nearly 30 million kids with food and learning support amid the coronavirus crisis.

“When we started the conversation around Sing It With Oreo, it was about a month into the lockdown,” said Justin Parnell, senior director, Oreo brand at Mondelez International. “We were projecting that the world was going to need some joy—something entertaining that would help us reconnect.”

Joy + Kindness And Lady Gaga OREOs

Initial creative concepting happened on the heels of Gaga’s sixth studio album, “Chromatica.” Inspired by the fabulously fun and deeply personal tracks, the wide-ranging program took off with Lady Gaga’s most rabid fans and even more casual consumers went on substantial shopping sprees to snag packs. Others sought to immortalize the custom cookie—for a price.

OREO became a trending topic on Twitter without any paid support, catching the attention of a number of celebrities including Stephen Colbert, Kid Cudi and Tyler Oakley.

The campaign achieved hundreds of earned placements across the national press entities like TODAY, CNN, People, Delish and New York Magazine’s Grub Street. Additionally, more than 200 local broadcast segments showcased the pink and green cookies.

Critical to the campaign’s success was the one constant consumers see: the brand’s packaging and the product inside. In grocery stores, most people tune out even the most ambitious of displays. Brilliant end caps melt into a cacophony of brands. Stand-alone pop-ups become lonely, unloved product sentries, invisible despite occupying obvious retail real estate.

Not so for OREO and Lady Gaga. Beyond first glances, this was a visual showstopper filled with meaning and purpose.

Pushing Further In Packaging

According to Martin Agency SVP and Global Group Creative Director, Jordi Martinez, the brand’s brief remained in line with OREO’s purpose of playfulness and connection.

“There is a natural connection between music and connection and it was clear that Lady Gaga is very purpose-driven—especially with the Born This Way Foundation—that was aligned with the vision,” said Martinez.

The pandemic has been marked with grief and isolation, job loss and financial insecurity—undeniably damaging to people’s collective mental health. Co-founded by Lady Gaga and her mother, the Born This Way Foundation aims to make “kindness cool, validate the emotions of young people and eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health.”

With a rich playground from which to work, Martin ACD Rique Santiago, admitted that there was almost too much to pull from. “Chromatica” is a sensory experience with a wide range of design elements—and the challenge was finding the middle ground to be impactful, inclusive and universal. For Santiago, it was critical to lean into Lady Gaga’s inherently playful personality.

“Lady Gaga has tremendous gravitas and takes things, in a positive way, to extremes, especially in visual design,” added Santiago. “We saw that we could start connecting things like colors and dissect some of the symbols and icons to create something that had never been done.”

Some key elements burst into life quickly, as the creative teams continued their journey. First, the packaging was filled with color, yet was done simply. Several options were on the table in the early stages. Some of the more “out there” executions got scrapped, finding they’d be too confusing and loud while swamping the visual vocabulary of the campaign.

What’s Inside

Next was the “rip”—a feature illustrating what the pink and green product looked like inside the package. The theory behind the design flare is that it becomes a “showstopper,” getting consumers to stop mid-aisle and spend time engaging with the product. This was an unusual approach that, according to Santiago, was incredibly rewarding and reflected the ambition of Lady Gaga.

“We decided to push further than we normally would,” he said. “The Lady Gaga universe allows you to go further and the client was incredibly brave.”

The external packaging was the entry point for consumers, but the cookie itself was another signature moment for Martin’s creative team. Santiago said the team started with 50 different cookie embossments and design concepts, ultimately landing on four.

Interestingly, though, Martin was armed with years of experience in building custom products for OREO, making the process less daunting. According to Parnell, there are highly precise manufacturing limitations—like thickness to prevent breakage and to bake at a consistent profile—and the understanding of the process goes beyond his walls.

“Our research and development teams are impressed because, typically, they’d have to go through multiple rounds of optimizing the cookie,” noted Parnell. “I give minor feedback, and we’re done. I don’t know if most agencies are designing products, but The Martin Agency has that strong capability and does it very well. It further illustrates how the agency is a total business partner for our brand.”

A Crisp, Collective Vision

Parnell confirmed that Lady Gaga was intimately involved in the process, despite a predictably whirlwind and busy schedule. While she and her team had strong points of view on the design, what wasn’t lost was the inherent purpose of the overall campaign.

“[Lady Gaga] was very focused on this being less about her as the superstar and more on how this supports the Born This Way Foundation,” said Parnell. “She came from a genuine place, as did we.”

Like Parnell, Martinez and Santiago saw beyond simply creating a limited-edition cookie and a high-profile promotion. To all involved, it was about finding a way to help people connect through the power of Lady Gaga, her story and dedication to fostering a kinder and braver world.