Oatly's Super Bowl ad was dubbed one of the worst, yet we're still talking about it
This year's Super Bowl commercials delivered some old favorites (hello, Bud Light and Doritos) along with some fresh entrants.
Among those newcomers was Oatly, the oat milk company that had many Americans sit up from their dairy-ères in bewilderment thanks to its Super Bowl commercial.
The 30-second spot features Oatly CEO Toni Petersson literally singing the praises of oat milk. With lyrics such as "it's like milk, but made for humans" and "wow, no cow," we may have discovered the next Bob Dylan.
As he sings with a keyboard in the middle of a field, he wears a T-shirt reading "no artificial badness."
The reaction on social media was a mix of laughter and contempt for oat milk.
Oatly CEO out here trying to get me to stop using his product. #SuperBowl
— Josh Charles (@MrJoshCharles) 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
I dislike Oatly now
— bletchley punk (@alicegoldfuss) February 8, 2021
That commercial was so bad that I’ll never buy Oatly milk ever.
— Joseph P. Huber (@JosephPHuber) February 8, 2021
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Of course, none of that mattered because it appears that was Oatly's plan the entire time.
"Maybe interrupting the second quarter so the world could experience Toni's musical stylings about how oatmilk is like milk but made for humans wasn't the most Super Bowl-ish idea ever, but on the other hand, our attempt to promote Toni's singing skills to a wider audience actually got you to visit an oatmilk company website on the big day," reads a message on Oatly's website.
The company was also selling T-shirts allowing you to profess your hatred for the ad. They're sold out.
Beyond dairy: Why oat milk is the new 'it' milk alternative (sorry, soy and almond)
Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Oatly Super Bowl commercial: Why we can't stop talking about Oatly CEO