The “Oatly Department of Mind Control” presents its largest national moving image campaign to date. Oat drink pioneer Oatly launched its biggest ever campaign in Germany on 15 February. At the centrepiece are five TV spots in which the company introduces viewers to its top sellers Oat Drink Barista Edition, Oat Drink Deluxe, Oat Drink Cocoa and Oat Drink Calcium.
For nearly 30 years, Oatly has been committed to promoting positive social change by consistently highlighting the benefits of plant-based nutrition for both the human body and the climate. The switch to plant-based products is not easy for many consumers. For this reason, Oatly resorts to the tactic of “mind control” in its new campaign. Hypnotic spirals, pendulums and subliminal messages are intended to help anchor oat drinks firmly in the minds of consumers in a playful and humorous way, to change their habits and switch to Oatly products.
Oatly is also part of the campaign to stop Amendment 171, which proposes absurd restrictions prohibiting vegan brands from showing imagery of their own products; the preferable carbon footprint of a plant-based product; or “using a picture of a plant-based white beverage being poured at a breakfast table”. Below you can see the brand’s humorous take on the amendment which does in fact pose serious implications for dairy alternatives.
The Oatly Department of Mind Control
The originator of the new ad campaign is the “Oatly Department of Mind Control”, Oatly’s internal creative department. Among other things, the team is also responsible for the slogan “It’s like milk but made for humans”, for which Oatly was sued by the Swedish dairy industry.
“We don’t have a classic marketing department that decides how we can use advertising bookings with the greatest possible ROI – otherwise there’s no way we could have implemented such an absurd campaign. We see ourselves as a voice that wants to encourage people to eat a plant-based diet and thus do something good for themselves and the planet. With the campaign, we wanted to give this voice a stage to move society forward – in an experimental way,” explains Michael Lee, Creative Director at Oatly.
