Billion-dollar Oreo cookie celebrates 100th birthday

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On its 100th birthday, Oreo, the world famous comfort food showed how a brand could withstand the test of time and forge an emotional connection with consumers.

People in at least 5 countries celebrated the centenary of the cookie with 2 black biscuits with a white (or cream) filling via flash mobs featuring "Happy Birthday!" songs. The first Oreo cookies were baked at the Nabisco factory Chelsea, New York on March 6, 1912.

Kraft Foods, which owns Nabisco, sells around 500 billion Oreo cookie every year generating $2 billion revenues and making it part of the elite roster of billion-dollar brands worldwide. (Philip Morris Companies, Inc. acquired Nabisco and merged it with Kraft Foods, Inc. in 2000. Kraft announced it was splitting making the snack food business a separate company in 2011)

In business schools, Oreo is a classic case study of a successful brand and is considered a "true innovation."

It allows consumers to "take ownership of the cookie" by encouraging consumers to be creative when eating them.

Through advertisements, Oreo was peddled as a cookie that could be dunked in milk, twisted apart, its cream slowly nibbled, or quickly gobbled as a whole. The idea that the cookie is ideal for sharing during precious moments with loved ones was also nurtured. 

It has the texture and flavors that appeal to all ages. An Oreo cookie is 29% creme and 71% cookie, according to one report.

"The simple act of enjoying an Oreo cookie and glass of milk continues to speak to a universal, human truth: inside of us, there's a kid that deserves to be set free every once in a while, John Ghingo, senior director for Oreo Global at Kraft, told BBC.

But it's not just food. In some schools, preschoolers learn to count as 10 little Oreos are dunked, nibbled and stacked one by one. To teach math, trivia questions are used. For example: If an Oreo cookie is 8 mm in height, how tall is a stack of 10 Oreos? 20 Oreos? All 51 Oreos (there are 51 in the standard 20-oz pack)?

Oreo's ads revolved around the “twist, lick, and dunk” ritual to support the integrated marketing strategy behind the brand. Below are some of the Oreo ads through the years.

Photo from http://www.nabiscoworld.com/oreo

Lingayen to host 2012 Palarong Pambansa

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Lingayen, Pangasinan will play host in this year's Palarong Pambansa, the Department of Education (DepEd) announced March 1, Thursday.

The national sports event, where elementary and secondary students from public and private schools compete in various events, will be held from May 6 to 12.

The Narciso Ramos Sports Center will play host to most of the events, while some will be held in San Carlos and Dagupan Cities and in the towns of Bugallon and Binmaley. 

The DepEd has allotted an estimated P136.5 million for the games. An estimated 10,000 athletes, coaches, and sports officials from all the regions are expected to attend.

"Student–athletes who stand out from the Palaro serve as feeder to the National Sports Associations for further training for international competitions," the DepEd added.


Photo from Pangasinan official website

Prince Harry races world's fastest man

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Prince Harry of Britain gets the better of champion runner Usain Bolt when on the track at the University of the West Indies. The Prince of Britain was in Jamaica to meet Prime Minister Portia Miller as the guest of honor at the King's House. 

Before meeting with the Jamaican Prime Minister, the prince made a trip to the University of the West Indies for a tour to mark Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years on the throne. 

The man appropriately nicknamed 'Lightning Bolt' taught the prince the basics of starting but was surprised when he saw Prince Harry dashing 50 meters down the track. 

Prince Harry tricked the Olympic 100 and 200 record holder by telling him to look to his left, and then right. The prince then took off when Bolt did exactly what he told him to do. Clarence House ,  the official residence for Harry and his father the Prince of Wales, said in a tweet, 

"Prince Harry gets a headstart, although we are not sure @UsainBolt is really trying."

After the race, the Prince and Bolt did the sprinter's trademark 'to the world' pose. Prince Harry then lauded the rich track-and-field culture in Jamaica, saying, 

"So don't go running off to America, you have enough talent here. 

You have athletes for a generation to come." 

International Women's Day

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International Women's Day (IWD), originally called International Working Women’s Day is marked on the 8th of March every year.

You can do almost anything your mind to.

You can swim the deepest ocean and climb the highest peak

Be a doctor or fly a plane…

You can face adversity and still walk tall. 

You are strong, beautiful, compassionate and much more than words could ever say.

Today is yours and so is every other day. . . 

Every Home

Every Heart

Every Feeling

Every Moment Of happiness is incomplete without you

Only you can complete this world Happy Women’s Day

Happy Women's Day! 

‘It’s more fun in the Philippines’ tourism campaign launched in Berlin

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“It’s more fun in the Philippines,” the country’s tourism slogan, was officially rolled out globally. The Department of Tourism introduced the campaign at the 2012 International Tourismus Bourse, the world’s largest travel and trade expo, in Germany March 7 - 11.

In a statement, Jimenez explained that “Our participation in ITB this year is quite significant because it’s the first time for us to roll out the ‘It’s more fun in the Philippines’ campaign in a global event.”

“About half of the travel business is traded through the international travel bourse,” the tourism chief explained, adding that the ITB is institutional among travel wholesalers where direct selling and networking is done.

Jimenez leads the 41-man Philippine delegation. He said the Philippine's 180-square-meter booth exhibit will represent destinations including Manila, Palawan, Boracay, Cebu, Bohol and Negros Oriental.

The colorful weave-style design of the “It’s more fun in the Philippines” campaign will be prominently featured in the booth that the DOT will share with its private sector partners representing a record 19 hotels, resorts, travel agents and tour operators. 

The ITB has also provided the Philippine delegates a venue to establish and renew linkages with their industry counterparts in Europe and other source markets.

Every year, the ITB draws about 180,000 visitors and 10,000 exhibitors from over 180 countries. The Philippines has been participating in the fair since 1985. He added that the department’s goal is to attract 10 million tourists by 2016.

“We are very confident that the new campaign will create a higher awareness level of the Philippines as an exciting and must-experience destination in Asia,” Jimenez said.

A big percentage of travel packages are bought from the travel bourse as compared with travel packages bought from the Internet or elsewhere, he stressed.