Viewers Aren't Sure How to React to the Oatly Super Bowl 2021 Ad That Was Banned in Sweden
The commercial, which featured Oatly's CEO singing, "Wow, no cow," is several years old but made its debut in the U.S. on Sunday
People on social media are split on Oatly's unique commercial for Super Bowl LV.
The Swedish company — which makes alternative dairy products — debuted the ad in the United States on Sunday as the Kansas City Chiefs faced off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
On a night known for star-studded commercials, Oatly's ad stood out because it featured its CEO Toni Petersson sitting in front of a piano in the middle of a field — and that's it.
In the commercial, Petersson belts out a song with a catchy chorus about his non-dairy milk.
A version of the commercial has been posted on Oatly's YouTube channel for several years. And, according to Ad Age, was made back in 2014 and banned in Sweden after facing a lawsuit from the Swedish dairy lobby.
The ad was the center of debate on Twitter, with people calling it "bad" and "inescapable."
"The only thing i'm hearing about the superbowl is how terrible the oatly ad was, so i'd say it was a pretty good ad," one user said.
"I believe the oatly ad was made bad on purpose so people would talk about them," speculated another.
There was at least one fan of the commercial: musician Questlove.
"Lol weird commercial but I love Oatly," Questlove — real name Ahmir Khalib Thompson — wrote on Twitter.
"Come to think of it @oatly won. For those who know they know," Questlove — a drummer a frontman for The Roots — wrote in another tweet. "For those that don't know ....welcome aboard we kept the light on for you lol. Simple commercial inescapable song."
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On the Oatly website, the company celebrated the commercial's debut by admitting it wasn't supposed to be a "Super Bowl-ish" ad to begin with.
"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," the company wrote. "Total success!"
The Buccaneers and the Chiefs are facing off at Super Bowl LV on Sunday in Tampa. The game is airing on CBS.