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Watermelon Oreos: The public weighs in on social media

Watermelon Oreos, the dunkable cookie's newest makeover, went on sale June 10, but the typically social media savvy company hasn't marketed the limited edition cookie as they have others. 

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Screenshot KPRC Local 2
Watermelon Oreos, the famous dunkable cookie's newest makeover seen here, is causing a stir among fans and detractors alike on social media. Curiously absent from the conversation, Oreo's typically savvy social media managers.
  • By Andrew Averill Contributor

Oreos, the dunkable chocolate cookie with a crème épaisse center (we joke), is getting a limited edition flavor makeover for summer. What did the bosses at Nabisco decide on? Watermelon Oreos — this is happening. 

“We chose Watermelon because it is a fun, summer flavor that goes great with the Golden OREO cookie,” Oreo spokesperson Kimberly Fontes told Time. 

While Ms. Fontes seems to be excited, Oreo's social media accounts, known for brilliant marketing stunts like the Super Bowl power outage ad released on Twitter, have been mum about the newest edition of their cookie, at least on the Internet. Rather than tweet, Instagram, or post a Facebook status about the limited edition product as they have in the past for other makeovers like the orange colored Halloween cookie, Oreo's social media managers have only recognized the existence of the new Watermelon Oreos in responses to comments originating from fans, which, by default, are not displayed front and center on social media pages. 

So what are Oreo eaters saying about the new Watermelon Oreos? On Twitter, responses range from, "These sound heavenly," to "i looked up 'abomination against nature' in the dictionary and there was a picture of watermelon oreos." In the one tweet that actually mentioned @Oreo, Twitter user Mark Hodgson said he highly recommended the summer edition Oreos, to which the official Oreo Twitter handle, three days later, replied: "@markasrx You're one smart cookie ;)"

What few mentions this reporter could find on the cookie's Facebook page came only as a generic sounding reply to fans of the page who asked where they could find the new product. 

In separate comments, fans Cali Julz and Carrie Asmann asked, respectively, "Where are these watermelon OREO's at...pls say soCal ;)" and, "Watermelon oreos where can we buy them??"

The person behind Oreo's Facebook account gave the same response to both women: Though that person answered the question, the answer sounded like a canned response aimed at any and all questions about the new Watermelon Oreos: "Hi! – We have good news! We are making Watermelon Oreos! They are a limited edition product available at Target while supplies last! Thanks!" 

Other responses to questions about sales locations were personally addressed to those who queried the cookie maker. 

Perhaps the brand is avoiding direct mention of the new flavor because other organizations, mainly media organizations, that have polled their fans on social media about thoughts on the new Watermelon Oreos have been met with criticism.

KPRC Local 2, based in Houston, asked Facebook fans if they would buy a bag of Watermelon Oreos. The post was shared more than 600 times and received almost 400 comments. A quick glance at the comments and you can conclude that, at least for the fans of KPRC Local 2, Watermelon Oreos are not a hit. 

There was a deluge of comments containing one word, "Eww." 

Still, the cookies have only been sold at Target since June 10 and we don't know if the negative reactions on KPRC's post and seen across the Twittersphere are knee-jerk reactions to the idea or from people who have thoughtfully considered the merits of Watermelon Oreos based on an actual taste test. Only time will tell. 

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