Sandra O’Loughlin

OREO, the iconic chocolate sandwich cookie with the creamy filling sold by Kraft Foods, on March 6 celebrated its 100th birthday with surprise parties in seven U.S. cities, including a flagship event in Los Angeles where country music group Lady Antebellum performed several songs including, of course, “Happy Birthday.” Additional parties were held in other cities around the world The parties were part of a global campaign that includes in-store, print and TV advertising and digital initiatives around the theme “celebrate the kid inside.”

In one of the largest giveaways in Kraft Foods history, Kraft through May will distribute more than 16 million free samples of belVita Breakfast Biscuits. The sweet, crunchy biscuits, which hit retail shelves on Feb. 6, are a new breakfast category for the company in the U.S., but have been sold in Europe for decades.

To support the launch of its HEROICA board game platform, LEGO this past October unleashed 300 brand ambassadors simultaneously to 300 locations where kids often gather on a Saturday afternoon—Toys”R”Us. The goal was to raise awareness and get LEGO’s target of six- to 12-year-old boys to play the game, which hit retail shelves in June, and encourage their moms to buy it. But the real game play took place three weeks before in the scramble to find 300 suitable brand representatives and 30 regional field managers to handle the one-day event.

Sundance Channel from January 20 to 27 rolled out its largest multimedia experience to date at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Dubbed “Sundance Channel HQ,” the experience offered on-air, on-site and online activities for festival attendees and at-home fans.

Grand Marnier in February launched an on-premise sampling event and sweepstakes to raise awareness and encourage trial of its brand. The program runs through the end of March.

Sampling events, which launched in February, are taking place in restaurants and bars in major cities and college towns where on-premise brand ambassadors, dubbed “The Reds” for the color of the wigs and attire they are wearing, distribute the samples as well as t-shirts and other promotional prizes.