Food PR has always lived at the intersection of nostalgia and appetite. The most successful brands don’t just sell flavor; they sell memories, emotions, and shared cultural touchpoints. And in an era of social media dominance, food PR has had to evolve into something far faster, more responsive, and more daring than ever before.
Perhaps no single moment captures this shift better than Oreo’s legendary “Dunk in the Dark” tweet during the 2013 Super Bowl blackout. It was a single image, written and approved inminutes, that changed the way brands think about PR and digital storytelling.
It was also the culmination of years of Oreo positioning itself not just as a cookie, but as a cultural participant — a brand willing to be playful, witty, and human in the biggest moments.
This is the story of how Oreo used one perfect PR moment to cement its place as an icon in thedigital age — and why the lessons of that campaign still reverberate across the food industry today.
The Brand Before the Tweet
By the early 2010s, Oreo was already one of the most recognized snack brands in the world. Known for its “Twist, Lick, Dunk” ritual, Oreo had always marketed itself as more than just a cookie. It was about play, family bonding, and simple joy.
But Oreo faced a challenge. How do you stay relevant in a crowded snack industry when your product hasn’t fundamentally changed in a century? Rivals like KitKat, Snickers, and even new healthy-snack entrants were using bold advertising campaigns to stand out. Oreo needed to show that it wasn’t just beloved — it was modern, quick-witted, and in touch with culture.
That set the stage for a PR strategy that valued agility as much as tradition.
The Super Bowl Moment
On February 3, 2013, the lights went out at the Superdome during the Super Bowl. It was one of the biggest TV events of the year, and suddenly there was a 34-minute power outage. Millions of viewers, restless and curious, flocked to social media.
Within minutes, Oreo’s creative team, sitting in a “war room” with their ad agency, drafted a simple image: a lone Oreo cookie, spotlighted against a dark background, with the words: “You can still dunk in the dark.”
The tweet was published less than 15 minutes into the blackout. It immediately went viral — shared tens of thousands of times, picked up by mainstream media, and hailed as one of thesmartest uses of real-time marketing ever.
No million-dollar ad buy. No months-long production schedule. Just a quick, witty, perfectly-timed piece of PR that outshone most of the night’s commercials.
Why It Worked
The “Dunk in the Dark” tweet wasn’t an accident. It was the result of preparation, a strong brand identity, and a PR philosophy that embraced cultural participation. Several elements made it work:
1. Real-Time Agility
Most food brands plan their campaigns months in advance. Oreo’s PR team showed that agility could be just as powerful as preparation. By reacting quickly, they tapped into the moment everyone was experiencing together.
2. Brand Consistency
The tweet wasn’t random. It tied directly to Oreo’s long-running message about dunking cookies in milk. Even in a blackout, the brand’s playful essence was intact.
3. Humor and Relatability
The message was simple and clever, not forced. It made people smile, which is the emotional sweet spot of food PR.
4. Media Amplification
Because the tweet felt fresh and witty, journalists covering the blackout included Oreo in their stories. It became not just a social media hit but a mainstream PR triumph.
More Than a Tweet: Oreo’s PR Playbook
What made the moment so legendary is that it wasn’t just a lucky one-off. Oreo had already spent the previous year honing its voice with a campaign called “Daily Twist.” For 100 days in2012, the brand created new Oreo ads inspired by cultural events — everything from Pride Month to the Mars Rover landing.
That campaign trained Oreo’s PR and creative teams to be nimble, to listen to cultural conversations, and to react quickly with relevant, shareable content. The “Dunk in the Dark” tweet was the natural evolution of that discipline.
Oreo had effectively reinvented itself as a brand that didn’t just advertise but joined theconversation. That’s why the tweet landed so perfectly: consumers already expected Oreo to be part of cultural dialogue.
The Ripple Effect
The tweet’s success went far beyond one night. It sparked an industry-wide obsession with “real-time marketing.” Suddenly, every brand wanted to be quick, witty, and culturally relevant on social media. Some succeeded; many failed.
But Oreo remained a pioneer. The brand’s PR strategy continued to blend tradition (nostalgia for the cookie itself) with modern engagement (playful digital campaigns). Oreo showed that foodPR could be just as innovative and conversation-driving as tech or fashion.
More importantly, the campaign demonstrated that earned media — headlines, social shares, cultural buzz — could rival or even surpass the impact of expensive paid advertising. For a fraction of the cost of a Super Bowl commercial, Oreo achieved far greater cultural impact.
Lessons for Food PR
The Oreo blackout moment holds enduring lessons for anyone in food PR:
Prepare for the Unexpected
The “Dunk in the Dark” success was only possible because Oreo had people in place, with decision-makers present, ready to approve content on the spot. PR agility requires structure.
Cultural Relevance > Corporate Messaging
People don’t share corporate slogans. They share moments that make them laugh, smile, or feel connected. Oreo leaned into culture rather than broadcasting at it.
A Single Act Can Redefine a Brand
For decades, Oreo was just a cookie. After 2013, it became a symbol of clever, modern marketing. One PR moment reframed the brand’s entire identity.
Food PR Must Be Human
At the end of the day, food is about connection. Oreo’s PR worked because it felt human — someone at Oreo was in the room, watching the game, laughing at the blackout, and sharing a joke with millions of others.
Why This Campaign Still Resonates
Over a decade later, people still reference Oreo’s blackout tweet when discussing digital PR. Few other food campaigns have left such a lasting mark. It’s not just because it was funny or clever — it’s because it represented a shift in the way brands communicate.
The campaign showed that in the digital age, PR is no longer just about media outreach andpress releases. It’s about listening, reacting, and being part of the conversation in real time. Oreo wasn’t trying to dominate culture; it was trying to participate in it. That humility andplayfulness gave the brand an authenticity that money can’t buy.
Oreo’s “Dunk in the Dark” moment is a reminder that great PR is about more than budgets or slogans. It’s about timing, wit, and courage. It’s about having a team that understands thebrand so deeply that they can improvise in the biggest moments and still be perfectly on-message.
Food PR, at its best, blends appetite with emotion. It taps into our rituals and our culture. Oreomanaged to do all of that in one tweet. It’s no exaggeration to say that a cookie — simple, sweet, familiar — changed the rules of brand communication.
Oreo didn’t just dunk in the dark. It dunked on the entire industry, and in doing so, it lit the way for a new era of PR.