The Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book, with its red and white checkered picnic blanket pattern cover, was a fixture of my childhood. Not that my folks were regularly consulting with the recipes contained within, as a steady diet of Hamburger Helper and Sloppy Joe doesn’t quite necessitate the need for handy, easy-to-prepare weeknight meals.
Had I only known—it could have been a decoy with a package of Oreo Thins tucked away inside.
Last week, Oreo announced their Thins Protection Program, offering fans hidden packaging for their tasty treats. Instead of a skid of Oreo Thins—a much-coveted delectable snack by either your kids, roommate, or significant other—the disguised packaging is made to look like a car manual, a pack of t-shirts, a cookbook, or, the horror, frozen riced veggies. By partnering with real-life brands like Green Giant, Better Homes & Gardens, Hanes, and Ford, Oreos lends some genuine secret sauce to their hidden cookie operation, tricking would-be thieves from raiding your supply. And it seems like a tiny miracle that any other “adult” brand would sign onto such a promotion.
Of course, the “hidden” packaging can only do so much. Sure, a book spine is a pretty nifty trick for hiding your stash, but the decoy only covers so much. In the end, it only takes looking just a teensy bit closer at that bag of riced cauliflower to discover that it’s got Oreo branding all over it.
Still, while not as deceptive as you expected, it will do in a pinch—you’ll just have to be one of the lucky 3,000 folks to win a package via sweepstakes. Yes, I hate to take the wind out of your milk and cookie sails, but it’s a promotional contest where entrants must tell Oreo, via Twitter, their favorite hiding places for cookies which kind of defeats the point? Like, we’re gladly giving up this information voluntarily on social media?
Anyway, this is the perfect gift for anyone with a hollowed-out bible containing their stash of, uh, cookies. Good luck winning, Oreo heads!
