A "Note"-Worthy Ad: Oreo's Continuing Support of the LGBTQ+ Community

Coming out isn’t a one-time thing. It’s the process of a lifetime and ranges from terrifying to mundane. When I first came out to my parents, I knew I would be experiencing those same emotions every time I told a stranger, coworker, or friend about my personal life. Oreo’s new short film, “The Note”, directed by lesbian filmmaker Alice Wu, explores the struggle of needing to come out again and again to family members. 

“The Note” is the latest in a series of partnerships between Oreo and PFLAG, one of the oldest and largest organizations providing resources for both young members of the LGBTQ+ community and their families. In it, Wu depicts what appears to be the classic coming out story, with a twist. The central focus of the ad is a young adult man writing a note in order to help him come out to his grandmother. Oreo chose to depict this, rather than a more ‘traditional’ coming-out story, as a direct follow up to their 2020 “Proud Parent” ad. In an article by Jeff Beer on FastCompany.com, Oreo senior brand manager Olympia Portale is quoted as saying,

“[this project is] about galvanizing a new generation of allies, to really understand that allyship is action, and it takes more than just showing up at Pride once a year.”

Oreo is no new hat when it comes to showing support for the queer community. In 2012, amidst heated debates and moral panic over the possible legalization of same-sex marriage, Oreo posted a photo of an Oreo stacked high with rainbow filling, with the caption, “Proudly support love!”, quickly garnering hundreds of thousands of likes, shares, and comments. 

Image via knowyourmeme.com

Not all comments were supportive. The backlash against Oreo included small-scale boycotts in some red-leaning areas, but Oreo continued with the campaign, branding itself as a company for families of all shapes and sizes. 

Both “The Note” and the 2012 rainbow cookie ad came at times when LGBTQ+ rights were center stage in the public eye. With the ongoing debate over Florida’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill, companies such as Oreo and Disney have been facing increasing scrutiny over their lack of support of such bills from right-wing news sources. This scrutiny comes with a silver lining for Oreo, though; increased news coverage. 

While this ad resonated deeply with me, I feel that there are areas for improvement. It seemed to have been made with the idea of the short film first, and the Oreo brand as more of an afterthought. It focused deeply on the interpersonal story going on, with enough specific details that it’s difficult to pin down a particular buyer persona. It is, however, accomplishing its goal of furthering the image of the Oreo brand as one that is family-focused, given the intense focus of the video on family. 

The talent of Alice Wu is deeply apparent in “The Note”, but if I were the brand manager I would have made some changes. The opening half of “The Note” takes place almost entirely in halting Mandarin – a great nod to Wu’s personal experiences, but making it difficult for English-speaking viewers to understand the emotional core of the ad. The opening of the ad is intentionally unclear as to what, exactly, is going on. The short film relies heavily on reading, and reading quickly – with both tiny captions and very fast shots of the out-of-focus handwritten note that the film takes its title from. This could be an intentional choice, forcing viewers to watch the ad multiple times, but I feel it distracts from the emotional core of the ad and takes away from the focus on family. 

Overall, “The Note” fits in very well with Oreo’s long history of being a brand for families of all types, and a proud supporter of the queer community.