Oatly’s Super Bowl Ad Is So Loathed, It Created T-Shirts For Haters To Wear
Video screenshot via Oatly
Oatly’s Super Bowl spot might have only lasted 30 seconds, but the scar it left on viewers’ brains was so much deeper than it should have been. And it probably won’t be going away anytime soon, as there are now T-shirts to remember that moment by.
The notorious advertisement involved Toni Petersson, CEO of the plant-based milk brand, singing with a keyboard in a field about the benefits of switching to oat milk.
If you know the lyrics, sing along: “It’s like milk, but made for humans… Wow, no cow!”
It was a quick jingle, but people could not stop tweeting about it. Some were so pained by the commercial, they said it had the opposite effect on them and made them not want to buy oat milk even more. “I’ve never wanted to drink whole milk more in my life,” one viewer shared on Twitter.
It turns out that America isn’t the only place where the advertisement is not welcome. According to Ad Age, the video was shown in Sweden back in 2014 but was eventually banned following a lawsuit by the country’s dairy lobby.
Nevertheless, Oatly isn’t frazzled by the negative attention. “Maybe interrupting the second quarter so the world could experience Toni's musical stylings about how oat milk is like milk but made for humans wasn’t the most Super Bowl-ish idea ever,” the company noted on its website. “But on the other hand, our attempt to promote Toni’s singing skills to a wider audience actually got you to visit an oat milk company website on the big day.”
There’s even a set of free T-shirts prepared for “haters” of various sizes, though the merchandise has already been snapped up.
“We can’t give you back those 30 seconds but we can give you a free t-shirt that lets the world know where you stand on our attempt to promote Toni’s singing skills to a wider audience,” the company shared.
The brand also stressed that it is “not offended” by the pushback.
“We believe that having different opinions on things is what helps move society forward, even if those particular opinions are strong enough for you to want to wear them in T-shirt form,” explained Oatly.
If you just watched our CEO sing in an oat field on the big game, we can’t give you back those 30 seconds but we can give you a free t-shirt that lets the world know where you stand on our attempt to promote Toni’s singing skills to a wider audience. https://t.co/5s9EoK2ALW pic.twitter.com/XDcxPckvys
— OatlyUS (@OatlyUS) February 8, 2021
either they forced the ceo of oatly to do that or he wanted to and neither will make me happy
— 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗯 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗻 (@calebsaysthings) February 8, 2021
oatly what happens is when everyone laughs at the ceo's jokes too much
— Aisha Hakim (ae-sha hay-kim) (@AishaAnnHakim) February 8, 2021
Oatly CEO out here trying to get me to stop using his product. #SuperBowl
— Josh Charles (@MrJoshCharles) February 8, 2021
[via USA Today and Ad Age, cover image via Oatly]
Also check out these recent news
