Plant-Based Products

There's No Chicken in This Frozen Dessert Bar? Oatly Messes With Consumers' Heads in New Ads

The plant-based brand puts a twisted spin on an age-old ad trope

Two men on a mini golf course try Oatly ice cream bars next to massive sculpture of a clown head — Consumers who thought they were sampling a conventional chocolate-covered frozen treat are predictably confused.Oatly

By T.L. Stanley

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Here’s a tried-and-true advertising tactic that goes back decades: Hand a product to a person on the street, ask them to sample it, record their (hopefully positive) response and turn it into a cheery testimonial.

Commercial gold!

But when a format has been used endlessly, does it lose its punch?

Not in the hands of Oatly, a marketer with a delightfully twisted sense of humor and a penchant for messing with consumers’ heads (see the goofy and divisive Super Bowl spot of 2021 for reference).

Using

T.L. Stanley

T.L. Stanley is a senior editor at Adweek, where she specializes in consumer trends, cannabis marketing, plant-based food products, pop culture and creativity.

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