The super bowl 2021...what a strange game, what a strange environment and ultimately what a strange time to have been creating commercials. I can’t imagine trying to produce an in person commercial in the times of corona. That being said, it’s no secret that the super bowl has a ton of eyes on it every year and that a super bowl ad can really change things for companies...insert Death Wish Coffee Roasters, who were able to win a super bowl ad spot a few years back and it totally changed their company (not an ad for or an endorsement of Death Wish but here’s the story if you are interested).

But what happens when you create something “bad” intentionally and then use that negative buzz to your advantage? This year, we saw Oatly (who full disclosure, I’m a huge fan of and so is my tummy) created a “bad” commercial and then begin pushing shirts out on the streets that say “I Totally Hated That Oatly Commercial.” Don’t believe me that it was “bad”? Check it out for yourself here. They also made it on to the list of worst super bowl commercials of 2021.

So what's the deal? Well, the deal is that they are winning. They likely spent less creating that short commercial than most of their competitors and it stirred up quite a lot of buzz about them. Now, I’m not sure if Oatly is a household name just yet, but they are on their way to be sure. In this scenario, a “bad” commercial was actually really good for Oatly.

I’m in no way saying that Oatly couldn’t afford to create a “better” commercial but they didn’t have to and they are likely better for it. One of the things I’ve noticed recently is that some of the content I have produced that wasn’t perfect actually performed better than content that was, in my opinion “better”. The differentiating factor? Meaning, purpose, and value. The “bad” content that I have produce often had much more meaning, purpose, or value behind it and thus performed better. Every once in a while, I get self conscious that the content that I produce isn’t always perfect and then I wont produce content. So how do I combat this? I remind myself to not look at the other players in the game but rather remember to focus on where I / we are as a company. Simply doing what I can with the resources I have is better than doing nothing at all...and sometimes, something bad is actually really good. Oatly is a perfect example of this. They weren’t concerned with how good or bad the content was. They created a great video, with a catchy tune, that was memorable. They didn’t care what Chobani or Pacific had to say about their ad. They did what was right for them at the time.

So don’t be crippled by your budget. Don’t be crippled by not wanting to look bad. Everyone starts somewhere and right where you are is the right place to start.

Great work Oatly! Seriously, Wow, no cow!

If this brought you value or you just have questions, please feel free to reach out. You can reach us at thelevco@gmail.com or you can find us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @thelevco.

Be well!