With the Super Bowl’s broadcast time at around $ 5.5 million for 30 seconds, it’s a big bet for Oatly. But production costs in 2014 were minimal.
“It cost a fraction of what the catering budget is for almost everywhere else in the Super Bowl,” says Schoolcraft.
The commercial, directed by Torbjörn Martin, had only a shot or two and was one of a series of commercials shot over a few days in Sweden over the summer, Schoolcraft recalls.
“You can look at it and say, ‘This may be the stupidest use of advertising space in the Super Bowl,'” he says.
But the place fits perfectly with Oatly’s messages. And if a fraction of the millions who watch the game perceive and search for the product, it will have done its job.
“The best approach is to simply advertise something that looks real and then let them make their judgment,” says Schoolcraft.
Oatly has been in the US since the end of 2016, but it took a while to increase production to meet growing demand. Now you’re ready to make more of an impact.
“It is the right time now for us to make a bigger statement for the entire national audience,” he says.
The ad, with its message “wow, not a cow,” aired during Swedish TV prime time and the Swedish dairy lobby sued Oatly immediately. So now, although the commercial cannot be shown in Sweden, it is making its American TV debut seven years later. Versions have appeared on YouTube for years outside Sweden, but have not been part of a major advertising push in the United States. So far.