A field, a song, a debut
Oatly airs its first Super Bowl commercial during Super Bowl LV on February 7, 2021, a 30-second spot in which chief executive Toni Petersson stands in a field of oats in southern Sweden and sings an original jingle titled "Wow, No Cow."1 Petersson writes both the music and the lyrics himself, delivering the line "It's like milk, but made for humans" as the opening phrase.1
The spot was filmed in 2014 during a brief break in the Swedish summer rain and first ran in Sweden that year.1 The country's dairy lobby sued Oatly over the wording of the jingle, and a court ruling bars the commercial from broadcast in its home market.1 According to John Schoolcraft, Oatly's global chief creative officer, Petersson initially refused to write the jingle and changed his mind only after reviewing early drafts from the wider team.
A challenger tone in a big-budget slot
The brand's Big Game placement signals a broader U.S. push for the Swedish oat milk producer, which entered the American market in 2016 and saw sharp demand growth through the 2020 pandemic.2 Oatly pairs the low-production aesthetic of the commercial with a merchandise drop at its online store, including a free T-shirt reading "I Totally Hated That Oatly Commercial" offered within 24 hours of the broadcast.3 The deliberately polarising creative reflects the brand's long-running positioning against conventional food advertising, prioritising conversation over consensus.
Source: Superbowlcommercials
Written with AI assistance, edited by a human. Find out more about our Use of AI.
1. Adweek, Kathryn Lundstrom, "Oatly's CEO Wrote That Song in the Brand's First Super Bowl Ad", 7 February 2021, for the spot being Oatly's first Super Bowl commercial, its 30 second length, the jingle having been written and performed by chief executive Toni Petersson, "It's like milk, but made for humans" as its first line, the filming in 2014 in a field of oats in southern Sweden during a short break in the summer rain, and the spot being legally forbidden from airing in Sweden after the country's milk lobby sued Oatly over those words. Wikipedia, "Oatly", for the February 2021 Super Bowl LV commercial called "Wow, No Cow" with Petersson singing a jingle in an oat field, and for the Swedish dairy lobby LRF Mjölk having successfully sued Oatly over the phrase "Milk, but made for humans". Wikipedia, "Super Bowl LV", for the game's date of 7 February 2021. https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/oatlys-ceo-wrote-that-song-in-the-brands-first-super-bowl-ad/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oatly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_LV
2. Adweek, Robert Klara, "Oatly Used Many Strategies to Succeed in the U.S., but a Marketing Department Wasn't One of Them", 16 June 2019, for Oatly's established U.S. presence ahead of the Super Bowl, built through independent coffee shops; the article beyond its opening sits behind a subscription wall. Food Dive, Megan Poinski, "How Oatly accelerated growth during the pandemic", 16 November 2020, off whitelist and used for corroboration only, for Oatly having first come to the United States in 2016 and for its accelerated growth during the pandemic. Forbes, Chloe Sorvino, "Oat Milk, Yeast And . . . Crab? The Foods That Saw Sales Surge In 2020", 29 December 2020, for U.S. retail sales of oat milk rising 208 percent to $249 million in 2020, per Nielsen. https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/oatly-used-many-strategies-to-succeed-in-the-u-s-but-a-marketing-department-wasnt-one-of-them/ https://www.fooddive.com/news/how-oatly-accelerated-growth-during-the-pandemic/589004/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2021/12/29/oat-milk-yeast-and-crab-the-foods-that-saw-sales-surge-in-2020/
3. Fox News, Cortney D. Moore, "Oatly's Super Bowl commercial shirt for haters goes out of stock in less than 24 hours", 8 February 2021, off whitelist and used for corroboration only, for the "I Totally Hated That Oatly Commercial" T-shirt offered on Oatly's website within 24 hours of the broadcast, free of charge, alongside a "Wow No Cow!" shirt at $28. https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/oatlys-super-bowl-commercial-shirt-haters-out-stock-24-hours
