PR / News

Menno Kluin - OREO Proud Parent

02 December 2020

MENNO KLUIN

Chief Creative Officer
360i, New York

360i Chief Creative Officer Menno Kluin has a proven track record of creative success that includes hundreds of industry accolades. His creative leadership has transformed perceptions around the type of work the agency produces and resulted in 360i’s most-awarded creative output to date. Drawing on his background in design, Menno places a priority on creative that’s rooted in traditional principles and craft, but produced with a digital mindset. As a result of his approach, the breadth and consistency of the agency’s award-winning work spans a range of clients, industries, and media formats, including voice game “Westworld: The Maze” for HBO, Oreo’s most successful limited-edition cookie launch to date, and a whole new approach to tourism marketing for the city of New Orleans.
 
Menno’s career has included stints with agencies like Deutsch, DDB, Y&R and Saatchi & Saatchi. Prior to 360i, Menno’s accolades include winning a Titanium Lion at Cannes, contributing to his previous agencies winning “Agency of the Year” recognition at the Cannes Lions, and earning Design Agency of the Year and Digital Agency of the Year at the Young Guns, among others. Within Menno's first two years in the industry, he was named "Most Awarded Art Director Worldwide" by Creativity and was ranked one of the Top 50 Young Creatives in the world by the New York Art Directors Club.
 

360i x OREO PROUD PARENT

OREO has a history of doing work in support of the LGBTQ+ community, and this year we set out to really move the conversation forward. Being an ally itself isn’t enough – it’s critical for individuals and brands to advocate for their LGBTQ+ loved ones and to show that love through loud, public support and action.
 
We knew that National Coming Out Day was an important moment for OREO to show up. When LGBTQ individuals come out to their parents, the reality is that they often put their relationship on the line. For many parents, the moment their child comes out to them is often when they themselves enter the closet as a parent. Since OREO is a cookie that helps builds a connection between a parent and child, we realized that there was no better moment to rally around as a brand than during the conversation where that bond is potentially jeopardized.
 
Thanks to the insights from our strategy team, which was led by Strategy Director Maggie Walsh, we understood that LGTBQ+ people basically have to come out repeatedly. When they meet new people at a party, when they get to know colleagues at a new job – with every introduction, another “coming out” moment takes place. However, simultaneously, the parents of that individual often choose to remain in the closet about their child’s identity. We heard so many stories about parents saying things like: “Don’t tell so and so at Thanksgiving dinner” or “Let’s not mention it next week while our friends are here to visit” and it was just heartbreaking. We knew that there had to be a way to move the cause forward, as this is a component of the coming out process that is still often ignored by mainstream culture. This was the first brief I’ve ever received that made me emotional – when Maggie was sharing her findings in our early conversations, it was honest and raw, and I am thankful that it shows up in the work. No matter what we did, we didn’t want to lose that emotion.
 
When we started working with the wonderful people at PFLAG National, the country’s oldest and largest ally organization, they brought incredible insight to every portion of the project. Along with their members, they helped weigh in on all the film decisions and created companion guides for families around showing support, being an ally, and using pronouns. It was important to us that we engaged members of the LGBTQ+ community throughout every step of the production process (production crew, talent, editing, music composition) all to be authentic as possible and true to the community. Without the numerous conversations we had with PFLAG, this project wouldn’t have resonated as it did.
 
We got Director Cole Webley involved because he excels at storytelling in an authentic way. His work somehow feels more like very short films rather than ads and we knew that that was what we were looking for. The moment this turned into yet another ad it would lose its power and the message could get lost. It’s more than an ad: it’s a message of support and love. Once that was set, it became essential to find the right couple to feature and we got incredibly lucky with casting our two lead actors. They are a couple in real life, and I think that bond between them really comes through in the film.  We were also proud to work with Bianca Cline, transgender cinematographer, as our Director of Photography.
 
The outpouring of support and comments from this film has been incredible. So much emotion unleashed. This project has been incredibly meaningful and it so was great to create powerful moments, like having a lesbian kiss on screen, featured by an iconic household brand like OREO. To hear that it was, in a way, a personal victory for the LGTBQ+ members of our team to see that kiss included as part of the film was amazing.
 
Please watch the film, take it all in, share the spot, and if you are a parent of a LGBTQ+ child: take the time and show your support publicly. It will mean the world to them.