Independent oat producer Glebe Farm took over Victoria station yesterday (9 May), with a series of billboards reminding customers of its famous legal victory over the Swedish multinational, Oatly.
The small, Cambridgeshire-based company was sued by Oatly last year over its ‘Pure Oaty’ product, which the larger firm claims is too similar to its own brand name, and is an attempt to capitalise on its success by masquerading as one of its products.
The High Court rejected Oatly’s claims and found in favour of Glebe Farm in August 2021. The disruptive OOH campaign aims remind customers of the victory with tongue-in-cheek messaging.
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The billboards, created by London agency You, variously read “Oatly sued us. We won. Now help us pay off our lawyers”, and “Oatly sued us. We won. Because you can’t beat true. British. Oat milk.”
The court case has caused significant damage to Oatly’s brand image in the UK, with its attempt to take on a small, family-owned firm perceived very negatively by the wider public.
“At a time when sustainability and championing local, British brands is at an all-time high, we wanted to remind people with a playful campaign that our oat milk is the most sustainable oat milk in the UK – and travels far less ‘food miles’ to get to customers than most other brands,” Glebe Farm owner, Philip Rayner said.
“After winning the court case against Oatly, it has made us want to be more disruptive in our campaigns. We’re known as the oat milk brand that beat Oatly, but we’re so much more than that. We are true, British oat milk. And proud of it.”
Oatly responded via its spokeswoman, Lucy Hopkins-Parkinson, who said: “Nice job on the billboards! We’re flattered by the shout-out.
“We can’t wait to open our UK factory in Peterborough next year where we’ll also be buying oats from British farmers, and creating around 200 new jobs.”
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