Oreo, famously nicknamed Milk’s Favorite Cookie, will officially become a supercentenarian on March 6, 2022. That’s right: Oreo is celebrating its 110th birthday!

Is it too soon to start the celebrations? No way! Let’s look back at Oreo’s history from its introduction to the Chelsea Market in 1912 to reaching Double Stuf milestone status in the 1970s. Plus, we’ll investigate if Oreo ever had a brand mascot and share how fans can start celebrating Oreo’s birthday party early!

Oreo’s Beginnings

What’s an Oreo? Oreos consist of two chocolate flavored wafers with vanilla flavored filling nestled in between. The Oreo cookie was first introduced in New York’s premier food market Chelsea Market in Manhattan in 1912. Oreos were first sold to the curious, delighted public in bulk tins.

How exactly does one eat an Oreo? Oreo fans learned early on that the best way to eat this snack was to “twist, lick, and dunk” their cookies. An Oreo advertisement began running on trolley cars in 1923 showing fans how to “twist” and eat their Oreos.

The Oreo name also experienced subtle changes. Oreo, originally known as Oreo biscuit, was changed to Oreo sandwich in 1921. By 1937, after nearly 10 years of global recognition, Oreo sandwich was changed to Oreo crème sandwich. Eventually, the name simply became Oreo.

Introducing Double Stuf Oreo

By the 1970s, Oreo was a worldwide hit with snack fans and cookie enthusiasts. Little did anyone know; Oreo was just getting started! The company was preparing to introduce new types of cookies and flavors.

Double Stuf Oreos made their debut in 1974. Double Stuf lived up to its name, giving fans twice as much vanilla filling or the “Stuf Inside” an Oreo. In the decades to come, Oreo would introduce several new cookies including these fan favorites:

  • Oreo Minis in 1992.
  • Golden Oreo, two golden vanilla flavored wafers that are an alternative to Oreo’s chocolate wafers, in 2004.
  • Oreo Thins, a thinner version of Oreo cookies in 2015,

Couldn’t get enough of Double Stuf? Oreo tripled the creme in 2013 with Mega Stuf Oreos.

A long line of popular Oreo flavors started to launch in the 1990s, too. One of the brand’s best-selling limited editions is the 1991 Halloween Oreo with orange-colored creme. This fan favorite always makes a return to snack shelves every October!

Since the Halloween Oreo launch, other popular creme flavors have included lemon twist, s’mores, and birthday cake, a special birthday cake-flavored creme filling with sprinkles, which celebrated Oreo’s 100th birthday in 2012.

Meet Middleman, Oreo’s Short-Lived Brand Mascot

Did Oreo have a brand mascot? Middleman made his debut in the 1970s as Oreo’s blink-and-you-might-miss-it brief cookie brand mascot.

Middleman is described as the “animated personification of an Oreo cookie’s creamy center.” Middleman’s commercials usually centered on the premise of Middleman getting phone calls about kids eating the centers of their Oreo cookies. The cookie mascot would visit kids and beg them “please don’t fiddle with the Oreo middle!”

Middleman insisted that kids should have a heart and not tear the cookies apart. However, the kids would make a good point. If you ate the middle first, you had two chocolate cookies to eat last!

“O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!” Middleman gets it!

The mascot’s jingle then changes to reflect that it’s okay to fiddle with the Oreo middle. By the 1980s, Oreo had retired Middleman but perhaps for Oreo’s 120th birthday we might see the brand revive its cookie mascot!

Oreo at 110!

Today, Oreo cookies can be found in more than 100 countries. 40 billion cookies are produced each year. If you stacked these cookies together, you would have enough Oreos to circle the earth five times!

“For over a century, OREO has brought fun, playful experiences to fans and we will continue to do just that as we celebrate our 110th birthday,” says Sydney Kranzmann, U.S. Brand Manager OREO.

“Our celebration is inspired by the magical birthday moment that spans generations and cultures… when you close your eyes, blow out the candles, and make a wish. We are so excited to celebrate 110 years of Milk’s Favorite Cookie by encouraging fans to embrace this birthday magic no matter their age and to never stop wishing – we’ll even be granting some fan wishes through our special sweepstakes prizes!”

Party with Oreo today! Pre-sale for the limited-edition Oreo Chocolate Confetti Cake Cookie is now underway on Oreo.com. This one-of-a-kind cookie, featuring rainbow sprinkles in and on the cookie, will be available in retailers nationwide on January 31, 2022.

Keep your eyes peeled for a special Oreo TV commercial encouraging fans to never stop wishing. Visit 110Birthday.Oreo.com for details on an upcoming Oreo sweepstakes and find out how you can enter to win!

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