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Oatly’s meta marketing push ridicules marketing

Most Meta Campaign Ever by Oatly Department of Mind Control, Sweden

Sweden – The plant-based milk brand is having fun with its latest advertising campaign, which brings 10 campaign executions together in one video. In the campaign, Oatly’s creative director Michael Lee can be heard reading out a summary of the campaign to art director Oskar Pernefeldt. He explains how the advertising journey began with a bus stop ad, followed by a boat sign about the ad. Further iterations include social media posts, a billboard, a truck ad and a street mural – all incorporating the initial ad.

At the end of the video, art director Pernefeldt asks, ‘Is that it?’, before the pair decide to add one final advertising step – posting their Zoom meeting in an Instagram post. By taking this self-referential approach, Oatly draws attention to the complex landscape of marketing and advertising, poking fun at the ridiculousness of the sector, while also still promoting its products.

Oatly is showing how Anti-authenticity Marketing is still relevant today, intentionally avoiding narratives around its history and purpose to instead offer relatable and light-hearted storytelling.

Strategic opportunity

The advertising sector is overrun with stories around heritage and purpose. Avoid these overused tactics and instead try to level with consumers through humanised and relatable messaging

Transformative flight technology for wheelchair users

PriestmanGoode

UK – Design studio PriestmanGoode has created Air 4 All, a system that will allow powered wheelchair users to fly with their own wheelchairs for the first time. Designed in collaboration with accessibility campaign Flying Disabled and aircraft safety certification partner SWS, the system will revolutionise air travel for passengers with reduced mobility (PRM).

Air 4 All works by securing wheelchairs to convertible cabin seats, allowing wheelchair users to remain seated during their flight. Its flexible design enables airlines to convert individual cabin seats, making them more accessible so flights can operate at full capacity and meet the needs of all passengers. The first prototype is expected to be ready in December 2021.

To make the roll-out of Air 4 All as seamless as possible, its patent applies to all types of wheelchairs and covers all varieties of public and commercial transport. Looking ahead, Air 4 All, Flying Disabled and SWS are looking to apply the system to other modes of travel, such as trains and underground rail, to provide more inclusive solutions for everyday life as well as the growing importance of an equitable built environment.

Strategic opportunity

Urban planners and mobility brands can take inspiration from how this project’s convertible design helps travel companies to maintain revenue while ensuring greater access for all passengers

A grocery discovery box for viral foods

US – Grocery retailer Whole Foods Market is boxing up items from its annual food trends forecast in a customer-facing discovery box. Each box will incorporate 10 items representing each of its top 10 trends – from cereals infused with turmeric to prebiotic beverages and products containing yuzu. The boxes are available for a limited time in-store and online, priced at £22.30 ($30, €26).

By offering hyped items and flavours in a one-stop evolving format, Whole Foods is supporting the drive among consumers to be more experimental in their grocery shopping habits. While the retailer has worked on an annual trend prediction report each year for the past seven years, this box marks the first time it has captured its insights in a sellable product.

Whole Foods is showcasing how retailers can influence shopper decisions in ways that highlight the importance of breaking out of comfort zones, a product-driven evolution of our Discovery Grocers microtrend.

Trends Discovery Box by Whole Foods Market

Strategic opportunity

Food and drinks brands can offer similarly curated bundles based on a variety of ethical factors. Consider the effectiveness of products centred around plant-based eating or lo- and no-alcohol concepts, for example

Stat: In South Korea, women are over the office

Infinite Office by Facebook, US

As telecommuting becomes an increasingly common feature of post-pandemic life, recent research by Seoul Woman Up has found that 65% of South Korean women prefer virtual workplaces over physical offices.

Remote working has given many women, including working mothers, more time for domestic tasks, with 53.1% of female respondents stating that they prefer to work from home because it affords them greater time to tend to children and house chores. A further 19.1% said they feel more comfortable appearing as avatars when joining teleconferences, a feature that can be attributed to the pervasive influence of gaming on Korean society. The survey revealed that 58.2% of women had encountered a form of the metaverse through online video games, highlighting opportunities for more immersive digital workspaces in the region.

With many offices planning to integrate remote working policies into their operations, platforms are developing more sophisticated solutions for the digital workplace. In the future, digital workplaces are likely to take cues from the gaming world to offer more exciting online experiences.

Strategic opportunity

If employees express high levels of satisfaction when working from home, companies should seek digital platforms that offer more exciting opportunities for remote social engagement