Introduction:From Paris street graffiti to the red brick walls of Chinese villages, OATLY oat milk has sparked polarized online reactions with its Spring Festival-themed “village wall mural” ad campaign. This article delves into how the brand combines internet memes with heartfelt copywriting, explores its creative highlights and market controversies, and shares practical advice on pairing oat milk with coffee to help readers understand the marketing strategy and consumer feedback behind it.
As an oat milk brand familiar to many coffee enthusiasts, OATLY products are commonly found on the oat latte menus of major chain coffee shops. Beyond the drinks themselves, the brand’s outdoor graffiti advertisements in Paris, France, have also successfully captured widespread attention. In November last year, OATLY shared a series of street art pieces in Paris via Instagram. These ads, while complying with French advertising regulations, cleverly integrated the brand image and product features to present striking visual effects.
The brand’s graffiti-style design resonated well with the artistic vibe of Parisian streets, winning the favor of the younger demographic. As a result, OATLY decided to continue this creative direction in the Chinese market but shifted focus from bustling urban streets to the rustic red-brick walls of rural villages, launching a Spring Festival-themed “village wall mural” ad short film.
This short film closely ties into the festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival, with its core message encouraging young people working in cities to return home for family reunions. The graffiti copy on the walls blends current internet memes with warm, homecoming quotes, spray-painted onto the simple surfaces of rural walls, creating a touching visual scene.
This combination of graffiti art, creative copywriting, and holiday themes successfully resonated with many young migrants striving in the cities. Numerous viewers expressed feeling a strong sense of homesickness, with some even saying, “It made me want to go home right away.” From a marketing perspective, this campaign not only aligned with Chinese cultural contexts but also precisely targeted the emotional needs of its intended audience.
However, some netizens questioned the advertising strategy. Compared to the high-foot-traffic, densely populated locations of Parisian streets, the choice of rural wall murals clearly has lower foot traffic, limiting the ad’s reach and impact. Additionally, the dual-targeting of both rural residents and urban migrants sparked considerable discussion.
Some observers noted that for villagers who remain in rural areas, limited educational backgrounds or language comprehension skills might make it difficult to fully grasp the meaning of internet memes. For urban migrants, while there is emotional resonance, the path to converting that into actual purchasing behavior remains indirect. Some even stated directly: “Migrant workers from rural backgrounds are often more frugal and may have limited acceptance of the relatively high-priced OATLY oat milk, especially when its nutritional value is generally considered inferior to that of cow’s milk—making the expensive pricing even less appealing to this consumer group.”
Regardless of the reviews, this ad short film did succeed in getting many people who hadn’t originally planned to return home to reconsider their decision. As for whether it can boost the market sales performance of oat milk, the final outcome still depends on actual market response.
For readers who enjoy adding oat milk to their coffee, here are some practical suggestions: when pairing oat milk with medium to light roasted coffee, it is recommended to usea coffee-to-oat milk ratio of 1:3 to 1:5, with the extraction temperature controlled between90-93°C, to fully highlight the creamy texture of the oat milk and the rich flavor of the coffee. In addition, oat milk has a higher fat content, making it suitable for making milk foam beverages such as lattes, delivering a smooth drinking experience.
In summary, OATLY’s marketing strategy of moving from the streets of Paris to the villages of China has sparked rich discussions in both creative expression and market feedback. Although the actual effectiveness of the ads remains to be seen, its emotional connection and creative execution undoubtedly provide a new perspective on how the brand communicates in the Chinese market.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
