Why Oreo is returning to the Super Bowl after more than a decade

Milk’s favorite cookie is back for America’s favorite sport.

After an 11-year hiatus, Oreo will once again advertise in this year’s Super Bowl. The brand’s 30-second spot, which features Kardashian family matriarch Kris Jenner, aims to reinforce Oreo’s relevance, according to VP of Oreo US Michelle Deignan.

“Oreo has been around for 110 years, and part of the reason we’ve been around for so long is our consistent drive to be in culture,” Deignan told Marketing Brew. “When we look at the Super Bowl, there is no more culturally relevant moment for consumers and advertising.”

Twist of fate: Oreo’s ad, called “Twist on It,” is set to air during the second quarter of the game. It depicts a few different scenarios in which people make important decisions based on which side of an Oreo the cream sticks to when they twist it open, culminating with Jenner using the twist method to decide if she should agree to the making of Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

The concept of “Twist on It” is rooted in real consumer behavior, according to Deignan. While decision-makers might not put their fate in the hands of a snack, it is true that many people twist the cookies apart before eating them, she said. Since Oreo is “a really playful brand,” Deignan said, the team wanted the ad to play on the idea of making adulthood easier.

“We know the seriousness of adulthood is difficult,” she said. “We wanted to put a playful twist on that and think through ‘How we can make people’s lives easier?’ and it’s so innate—use the twist of an Oreo to decide.”

Kris-py cream: Jenner’s involvement felt natural, Deignan said. When the team was thinking up culture-defining moments in history to feature in the spot, reality TV—and the Kardashians in particular—came to mind.

Plus, the brand already had a connection to the Kardashian family. Khloé Kardashian went viral several years ago for her incredibly organized pantry, including a glass jar of neatly stacked Oreos, which Jenner recreated in a teaser video for the Super Bowl ad.

Throwback: Oreo ran its first Super Bowl ad, “Whisper Fight,” during the 2013 Super Bowl, the same year the power went out in half the stadium, resulting in a slew of tweets from brands. Oreo’s tweet, which included a graphic that read, “You can still dunk in the dark,” reportedly got 10,000 retweets within an hour.

There will be social media elements to Oreo’s campaign this year, too, according to Deignan. Given Oreo is already a household name, she said the goal for Oreo’s return to the Super Bowl is less about brand awareness—typically a major Super Bowl ad KPI—and more about maintaining a spot “at the forefront of culture” and driving conversations about the brand.

“Consumers, more than ever, are looking for moments of indulgence in their lives,” she said. “As we think about that, it was the perfect opportunity to reignite that kind of messaging for Oreo.”