This bizarre Super Bowl Oatly commercial was actually pretty awesome

Swedish vegan brand Oatly aired its first TV commercial in the United States during Super Bowl 55 this Sunday. The 30-second commercial featured Oatly CEO Toni Petersson playing the keyboard and singing a short jingle with the lyrics “it’s like milk but made for humans” and “wow, no cow”. Since its airing, the ad has been criticized for its offbeat approach and low production value and Oatly was already prepared with his own humorous T-shirt featuring the Petersson image and the phrase “I totally hated this Oatly ad.” ”

“Hey us! Were you just watching the big game when, out of nowhere, our CEO Toni appeared in an oat field and provided you with his own musical styles accompanied by synths on Oatly? If so, we can’t give you those 30 seconds back but we can give you this free t-shirt … which you can wear proudly knowing that we won’t be offended in any way as we believe that ‘having different opinions is what makes society move,’ Oatly captioned a photo of the shirt on Instagram. “And furthermore, walking around with our CEO glued to your chest could spark some deep conversations about the benefits of a drink made directly from oats that completely ignored the cow, or how the switch from milk to oat milk can save the planet a ridiculous amount of [carbon dioxide], so yeah, we’re cool with that.

Prohibited in Sweden

The free t-shirt is currently out of stock but Oatly’s post lives on. The ad was originally produced for airing in Sweden. However, in 2014, the government banned Oatly from broadcasting it because of the “milk made for humans” message. The resumption of advertising by Oatly at one of the biggest sporting events in the United States brings the discussion on whether or not humans should drink milk of another species to the fore.

Currently, Oatly is also fighting on his own ground against the European Union’s decision to censor the use of the term “dairy” on plant-based products. In October 2020, the EU voted to approve Amendment 171, which sought to extend existing restrictions on conditions related to dairy products. Terms such as’ almond milk ‘and’ vegan cheese ‘were already banned on products in the EU, but 171 now prevents dairy substitutes from using descriptive terms such as’ yogurt style’ and ‘cheese alternative. “.

Nonprofit organization ProVeg International, along with supporters such as Oatly, Violife Upfield’s parent company, the Vegan Society and many more, have started a petition to overturn Amendment 171 which currently has over 200 000 signatures.