Oatly's Powerful Marketing Strategy

You don’t need to invent something new to build a big brand.

Sometimes, you need to tell a better story.

Take oat milk. It’s been around for years.
Tastes good. Best for the planet. Easy to make.

But for a long time, no one cared... until Oatly came in.

They didn’t change anything but how other brands showed it.
Instead of selling oat milk as a boring health drink, they made it exciting.
Bold ads. Strong opinions. A voice that stood out.

Suddenly, oat milk became a movement.

Oatly won hearts and built a $10 billion brand doing it.

The Big Idea:

Oatly’s Activism Marketing

Most brands play it safe by trying to be liked by everyone.

Oatly did the opposite by fighting in the dairy industry and making it fun.

Instead of asking people to buy oat milk directly, they framed a story around it. Something like, it’s like milk, but made for humans.

That one line caused a stir. Milk companies weren’t happy.

But Oatly didn’t back down. They leaned in and told people that milk hurts the planet and oat milk is better and convinced them to switch sides.

That’s what activism marketing is.

It’s when a brand stands for something bigger than its product. In Oatly’s case, the mission was to help people (and the planet) by ditching cow’s milk.

• They printed climate facts on their cartons.

• They ran weird, funny ads that didn’t feel like ads.

• They used their packaging like a protest sign.

And they kept saying the same thing, over and over, people felt something.

It wasn’t just about oat milk anymore. It was about joining a cause.

And that’s why it worked.

Behind the Magic:

Playing the Opposite Game

Oatly didn’t just build a product. They built a point of view.

They didn’t market oat milk like everyone else. They made it feel like a protest, a campaign, and a late-night chat... all rolled into one.

1. They didn’t play it safe. They picked a side.

Most brands try to avoid controversy.
They write safe copy. Neutral tone. Generic slogans.

The result is that no one remembers them.

Oatly knew that to be remembered, they had to be loud and clear.

They looked at the dairy industry and did the opposite.

They used black-and-white messaging, called out dairy as bad for the planet, and made milk look like an outdated idea. It was risky, and they got sued.

And this is one such ad:

But they also got headlines.

They sparked debates and attracted people who believed in the same thing.

2. They used their packaging like a protest sign.

Oatly treated every part of it like a storytelling opportunity.

Their cartons talked like a real person instead of just listing ingredients.

You would see bold fonts, cheeky jokes, and stories squeezed between barcodes. They even used the side panels to rant about the food system.

It made their product fun to hold. Fun to read and fun to share.

Check this one:

People posted pictures of oat milk cartons like they were T-shirts.

Because the packaging had a personality.

That is wise marketing because packaging is free media. It travels to fridges, offices, and cafes and becomes part of the customer’s daily life.

3. They made the brand feel like a friend.

Oatly didn’t act like a polished brand. They acted like a quirky friend with strong opinions, cracked jokes, and admitted mistakes.

They made weird creative choices, like airing a Super Bowl ad where the CEO stood in a field and awkwardly sang... Wow no cow.

People hated it. But they also remembered it.

And that’s the point. Oatly didn’t chase perfection.

They chased realness and understood that today’s consumers don’t trust brands that feel too polished. They want honesty, fun, and vibes.

4. They turned critics into marketing fuel.

When Oatly got sued by the dairy lobby in Sweden, they didn’t go quiet.

They printed the lawsuit on posters. And then they made fun of it.

The move was clever. It made the dairy industry look threatened.

And it made Oatly look like the brave underdog. They also once received hate mail calling them oat propaganda. They turned that into a T-shirt.

Here’s one such an incident:

This kind of confidence doesn’t just create buzz. It earns respect because most brands get scared of bad press. Oatly? They made it work for them.

5. They sold a mission.

At its core, Oatly wasn’t selling a drink. They were selling an identity.

Buying oat milk wasn’t just about taste or health.

It was about choosing a side in a broken food system.
It was about climate change.
It was about standing for something better.

And they made that very clear. They printed climate facts and launched bold ad campaigns calling for transparency in the food industry.

They even got banned from running certain ads and used that ban as part of their story. Customers didn’t just want oat milk anymore.

They wanted Oatly.

Where It Fits:

Ready-to-Use Marketing Strategy

• GOAL: Build a Mission-Led Brand That People Remember and Share

STEP 1:
Pick Your Bigger Than the Product Mission

Decide the one massive issue your product touches.

That is what you will rally people around. For example:

• If you build a productivity tool, is it fighting burnout culture?

• If you run a skincare brand, are you pushing back on toxic beauty standards?

• If you make a finance app → Are you helping people escape debt cycles?

Here's how you can do this:

• Write this out in one sentence.

• Say it out loud. You are on the right track if it sounds like a tweet that would get retweeted.

• Repeat it in every public touchpoint (bio, packaging, website, emails, posts).

STEP 2:
Build a Brand Voice That Feels Human

Ditch the corporate tone. Write and speak like a bold, opinionated friend.

• Pick 3 words your brand voice should feel like (e.g., Honest, Weird, Warm).

• Rewrite your homepage, product descriptions, or emails in that tone.

• Inject personality into unexpected places: 404 pages, confirmation emails...

Start a Voice of Brand doc in Notion and build from there.

STEP 3:
Use Your Packaging/Interface as a Message Board

Every product surface, physical or digital, should tell a story or trigger curiosity.

• Add a bold one-liner, a founder note, or an anti-industry fact on your box if it's physical. Use quirky empty states, onboarding copy, or footer text to make users smile if digital.

Oatly didn’t design packaging. They designed experiences that talk back.

STEP 4:
Turn Customer Screenshots & Haters into Content

Use public reactions, love or hate, as content gold.

• Got a funny/angry DM? Post it and share your response.

• Did someone call your product weird? Make a meme out of it.

• A loyal customer praised you? Turn it into a mini-story or customer spotlight.

It builds trust. It shows you are real. And it makes your brand feel alive.

STEP 5:
Run a Bold Campaign That Signals What You Stand For

Launch a mini-campaign that’s more about your values than your product.

• Create a social post/ad/blog/video about something broken in your industry.

• Partner with a small organization that's doing good in that space.

• Add a banner, product badge, or limited edition UI change to match the message.

Oatly’s climate transparency campaign wasn’t subtle.

It was loud, honest, and messy. And that’s what made it feel different.

Tools to Make This Easy

• Copywriting: 
  Hemingway App, ChatGPT (for tone testing), Typefully (for writing in public)

• Design: 
  Canva, Figma, or just text-based assets (like Oatly’s black/white posters)

• Distribution: 
  Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Email newsletter, YouTube Shorts

• Feedback Loop: 
  Typeform for collecting emotional responses from early users

Resources For You

Templates: Struggling to create high-converting DTC ads? Get 60+ proven DTC ad templates used by top brands. Plug, tweak, and launch winning ads instantly.

Hunting Marketing Jobs: Check out GrowthRoles. It's a job board just for marketers. From email marketing to social media marketing, find your dream role today.

Blog:

• Craft your best brand voice: Expert tips, examples, and templates

• What is user-generated content: How to get and use it

• 5 tips to create bold marketing that stands out

YT Video: Developing your brand voice

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