{"id":28072,"date":"2026-03-04T07:55:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T06:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/2budesign.com\/?p=28072"},"modified":"2026-03-05T13:33:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T12:33:56","slug":"oatly-how-humour-and-tone-of-voice-became-the-strongest-brand-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/2budesign.com\/en\/magazin\/oatly-wie-humor-und-tone-of-voice-zur-staerksten-markenstrategie-wurden\/","title":{"rendered":"Oatly: How humour and tone of voice became the strongest brand strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"et_pb_section_0 et_pb_section et_section_regular et_block_section\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_row_0 et_pb_row et_block_row preset--module--divi-row--default\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_0 et_pb_column et_pb_column_4_4 et-last-child et_block_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_text_0 et_pb_text et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_block_module preset--module--divi-text--default\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><h2>Oatly is not oat milk. Oatly is a statement.<\/h2>\n<p class=\"translation-block\">Oatly doesn\u2019t sell a product. Oatly sells a way of thinking.<br>And that\u2019s not just marketing jargon, but a strategic decision.<\/p>\n<p class=\"translation-block\">Whilst many food brands rely on <strong>health claims<\/strong>, an aesthetic of perfection and watered-down sustainability promises, Oatly does something completely different:<br>the brand speaks. And it does so in a way that brands <em>are not actually<\/em> supposed to speak.<\/p>\n<p class=\"translation-block\">This is particularly evident in social media marketing. Here, we see how <strong>brand strategy<\/strong> is brought to life through language. Humour is not just a nice extra here, but a <strong>brand-defining element<\/strong>. Oatly uses language as a tool to break down barriers, capture attention and create cultural relevance.<\/p>\n<p>Or to put it another way: Oatly doesn't want to please. Oatly wants to resonate.<\/p>\n<h2>Brand Strategy: The conscious decision in favour of the Challenger role<\/h2>\n<p class=\"translation-block\">Every strong brand voice begins with a clear strategic stance. At Oatly, this is: <em>We are the disruptors.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The brand strategy is based on a few basic assumptions that are implemented extremely consistently:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The market is full of interchangeable messages<\/li>\n<li>People have had enough of slick brands<\/li>\n<li>Sustainability needs honesty, not a glossy fa\u00e7ade<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"translation-block\">Oatly deliberately positions itself as a <strong>challenger brand<\/strong>. This means:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Do not adapt, but question.<\/li>\n<li>Not to explain, but to comment.<\/li>\n<li>Don't try to convince, but allow discussion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"translation-block\">This strategy is directly reflected in the company\u2019s social media marketing. Oatly does not communicate <em>about<\/em> the community, but <em>with<\/em> it. Comments are allowed to be critical. Campaigns are allowed to be controversial. Posts are allowed to be absurd.<\/p>\n<p class=\"translation-block\">The result: a brand with <strong>a distinct edge<\/strong> that doesn\u2019t appeal to everyone \u2013 but remains relevant precisely for that reason.<\/p>\n<h2>Tone of Voice: Cheeky, self-deprecating, human \u2013 and maximally conscious<\/h2>\n<p class=\"translation-block\">Oatly\u2019s tone of voice comes across as spontaneous. But it isn\u2019t.<br>It is highly strategic.<\/p>\n<p>The language follows clear principles:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Everyday language instead of marketing language<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Irony instead of instruction<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Personality instead of perfection<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Oatly writes the way people think. Disorganised. Honest. Sometimes slightly annoyed. Sometimes overly reflective. Often with a humorous twist that breaks expectations.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"translation-block\">Important: Humour is never just for entertainment. It is <strong>a signal<\/strong>.<br>It says: <em>We don\u2019t take ourselves more seriously than the cause. <\/em><br>And that is precisely what makes the brand credible.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"translation-block\">In the context of social media, this language ensures high <strong>shareability<\/strong>, strong community engagement and brand recognition \u2013 even without a logo.<\/p>\n<h2>Humour as a brand tool \u2013 not as a gag<\/h2>\n<p class=\"translation-block\">Many brands \u201euse humour\u201c. Oatly <strong> is humorous <\/strong>. <br> That\u2019s a big difference.<\/p>\n<p>Humour at Oatly fulfils several functions at the same time:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It lowers the entry barrier to complex topics such as sustainability<\/li>\n<li>It makes attitude accessible without appearing moralistic<\/li>\n<li>It creates emotional closeness<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The humour is often deliberately unwieldy. Texts are long. Statements seem almost too honest. Some messages read like internal thoughts made public by \u2013.<\/p>\n<p class=\"translation-block\">That causes irritation.<br>And irritation attracts attention.<\/p>\n<p class=\"translation-block\">Humour is therefore not an end in itself, but part of the <strong>communicative brand architecture<\/strong>. It helps to ensure that Oatly is not only noticed, but also remembered.<\/p>\n<h2>Social media as an extension of the brand identity<\/h2>\n<p class=\"translation-block\">Oatly does not use social media as a sales channel, but as a <strong>cultural platform<\/strong>.<br>Every post follows the same logic as the packaging, OOH or website:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>same language<\/li>\n<li>same attitude<\/li>\n<li>The same desire to break the rules<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"translation-block\">This also means:<br>No meaningless trend hashtags.<br>No copy-and-paste CTAs.<br>No empty sustainability claims.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, content is created that feels like commentary on the zeitgeist. Social media becomes a stage for brand personality \u2013 not a discount wall.<\/p>\n<p class=\"translation-block\">For sustainable brands, this is a key insight:<br><strong>Consistency trumps volume.<\/strong><br>And stance trumps reach.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201eYour brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room.\u201c<\/p>\n<p class=\"translation-block\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 16px;font-family: var(--et_global_body_font)\">Jeff Bezos <\/span><\/strong><span style=\"font-size: 16px;font-family: var(--et_global_body_font)\">| <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16px;font-family: var(--et_global_body_font)\">American entrepreneur and investor<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"translation-block\">Oatly takes great care to ensure <em>what<\/em> is said \u2013 through language, tone of voice and the courage to be uncomfortable.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_section_1 et_pb_section et_section_regular et_flex_section\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_row_1 et_pb_row et_flex_row preset--module--divi-row--default\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_1 et_pb_column et-last-child et_flex_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough et_flex_column_24_24 et_flex_column_24_24_tablet et_flex_column_24_24_phone\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_text_1 et_pb_text et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_flex_module preset--module--divi-text--znhbscuzkl\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><h3>Why Oatly is a blueprint for value-orientated brands<\/h3>\n<p class=\"translation-block\">Oatly impressively demonstrates that good social media marketing isn\u2019t about tools, but about <strong>decisions<\/strong>. Decisions about stance. About language. About personality.<\/p>\n<p class=\"translation-block\">The brand proves that:<br>Humour can run deep.<br>Sustainability can be loud.<br>Branding can be uncomfortable.<\/p>\n<p class=\"translation-block\">There is a clear lesson here for sustainable, animal-friendly and values-driven companies:<br> A strong <strong>brand strategy<\/strong> needs an equally strong <strong>tone of voice<\/strong>. And this must \u2013 no, should \u2013 sound different from everything else in the feed.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_section_2 et_pb_section et_section_regular et_block_section\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_row_2 et_pb_row et_block_row preset--module--divi-row--default\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_2 et_pb_column et_pb_column_1_2 et_block_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_text_2 et_pb_text et_pb_bg_layout_dark et_pb_module et_block_module preset--module--divi-text--c7ea2dd6-e597-4823-8d00-b258c7a11576\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><h3>You don't want an interchangeable brand voice, but a language with attitude?<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_3 et_pb_column et_pb_column_1_2 et-last-child et_block_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_text_3 et_pb_text et_pb_bg_layout_dark et_pb_module et_block_module preset--module--divi-text--c7ea2dd6-e597-4823-8d00-b258c7a11576\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><p class=\"translation-block\">At <strong data-start=\"340\" data-end=\"354\">2bu design<\/strong>, we develop <strong data-start=\"370\" data-end=\"416\">Brand Strategy, branding and tone of voice<\/strong> not based on trends, but on depth. We work with the <strong data-start=\"475\" data-end=\"505\">archetypes according to C. G. Jung<\/strong> and translate them into contemporary brand attitudes \u2013 as with Oatly, where the <strong data-start=\"582\" data-end=\"596\">Challenger<\/strong> emerges from a blend of <strong data-start=\"618\" data-end=\"637\">Rebel and Hero<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Let's find out together how your brand can speak.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"et_pb_row_3 et_pb_row et_block_row preset--module--divi-row--default\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_column_4 et_pb_column et_pb_column_4_4 et-last-child et_block_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_module et_pb_button_module_wrapper et_pb_button_0_wrapper preset--group--divi-button--divi-button--h1c8vfa--nested--7os10zr9fr_wrapper preset--module--divi-button--default_wrapper\"><a class=\"et_pb_button_0 et_pb_button et_pb_bg_layout_dark et_pb_module et_block_module preset--group--divi-button--divi-button--h1c8vfa--nested--7os10zr9fr preset--module--divi-button--default\" href=\"https:\/\/calendly.com\/hello-2budesign\/30min\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Arrange a coffee date<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Oatly shows how language can become a brand stage. Not loud, not smooth \u2013 but cheeky, self-deprecating and clever. As a designer, my heart beats not only for the bold visual branding, but especially for the unique brand language that Oatly consistently uses. This article shows how brand strategy, tone of voice and attitude work together \u2013 and what sustainable brands can learn from it.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-branding","category-marketing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/2budesign.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/2budesign.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/2budesign.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2budesign.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2budesign.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28072"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/2budesign.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28072\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29560,"href":"https:\/\/2budesign.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28072\/revisions\/29560"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2budesign.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/2budesign.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2budesign.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2budesign.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}