The geniuses at Oatly—a Swedish oat milk brand—have done it again. Their recent campaign has us rolling. They leaned all the way in and plastered pop-ups in major cities around the world including London and New York City.
This contrarian marketing campaign is perfectly aligned with the brand that’s trying to convince the world to start using oat milk in their coffee.
Ce-real irony
Oatly’s campaign was developed to announce the launch of their newsletter. So what better way to dehusk our expectations than naming it SPAM. 🤣
🤖 The Gist by ChatGPT: Contrarian thinking is like being the class clown of ideas. It's all about taking a step back from the popular crowd and saying "Hey, what if we do it this way instead?"
It's like playing a game of 'Yes, And' with the norm, taking what's expected and adding a big ol' twist. It's about not just accepting things at face value, but turning them upside down and seeing what falls out. It's like being the kid in school who raises their hand to ask "Why?" when the teacher says it's time to do something.
It's about finding the humor in the unconventional and never being afraid to make a fool of yourself in the name of progress. So embrace your inner rebel and start thinking contrarian today!
Milking it
Oatly’s campaign is brilliant. It builds on irony to engage a savvy audience that is familiar with many of the overused nuances of digital marketing. 🥱
The audience is in on the joke and pokes fun at the tactics when reading the newsletter.
While we love it, this isn’t necessarily a novel idea. Fiction writers have been using this approach for a long time. Instead of trying to impress the reader, they make them feel clever. They let the reader figure out whodunnit just a few moments before Sherlock Holmes does. 🕵🏼
And if the reader feels good about themselves—surprise, surprise—they start to like you a lot more too.
How’s that for an out-of-the-milk-box marketing campaign?
About Susan Rov
Susan traded cocktails and lattes for words that move. As a copywriter on a mission to end boring, she brightens brands and makes an impact. Number 463 on the list of fiction readers left standing, you'll find Susan at sunrise—running, writing, and wondering how to change the world next. That drive led her to become a founding team member of BRIL.LA.