The 9-Second Version.
Instead of fighting bad press with standard PR, the milk company Oatly leaned into it with a “F*ck Oatly” website, turning public criticism into a successful, trust-building campaign by choosing a weirdly honest approach.
Discover.
Nuclear Transparency
In 2023, plant-based milk brand Oatly was in the hot seat. The company was facing intense public backlash over a string of controversies, including a trademark lawsuit against a smaller competitor, its choice of private equity investors, and the practice of selling oat residue for animal feed.
The standard corporate playbook has a chapter for this: issue a carefully worded apology, lay low, and wait for the news cycle to churn. But Oatly lit that playbook on fire.
Instead of hiding, they took a radically different approach. In October 2023, they launched FckOatly.com—a stark, brutally honest case study in radical transparency.
On the site, you’ll find a running list of their biggest controversies, each one explained in their signature self-deprecating voice. They essentially built a user manual for their own criticism, putting all the negative headlines in one place for the world to see.
The weird, unconventional move sparked a firestorm of media discussion about the brand’s bold strategy.
And while correlation is not causation, the company’s financials tell a compelling story. Oatly’s revenue, which was $187.6 million in the third quarter of 2023, increased to $204.1 million in the fourth quarter, the period when the campaign went live.
Think.
Reach for Weird
When faced with a challenge, our instinct is often to reach for a familiar, safe, and conventional solution. Oatly’s success came from their courage to ignore the obvious path and invent a new one.
- Consider a challenge you’re currently facing. What is the most predictable or “boring” solution you could apply? What would the standard operating procedure be?
- Why is that solution so common? Is it because it’s truly the best option, or is it just the safest, the one that requires the least explanation, or the one that’s simply “how things have always been done”?
- What would a truly “weird” solution to your problem look like, one that feels almost absurd at first glance?
Do.
The Bad Idea Brainstorm
Oatly’s solution to their PR problem might have sounded like a “bad idea” in a normal meeting. To find your own breakthrough, you have to be willing to “harvest strange.” Here is one of my favorite techniques for doing just that:
The Bad Idea Brainstorm: Pick a problem, then intentionally brainstorm the absolute worst solutions to your problem. List every horrible, illegal, or lousy idea you can think of. Afterwards, examine these bad ideas to see if you can flip one into a brilliant, norm-violating solution.
To your creative success…
PS: Want to share this issue of Find A Way? Just copy and paste the link or forward the email version. Did someone share this with you? Subscribe here to get your own copy delivered straight to your inbox every Monday.
About Josh
Josh Linkner is a New York Times bestselling author, serial entrepreneur, venture capital investor, professional jazz guitarist, and a globally recognized innovation expert. To learn more or to explore a collaboration, visit JoshLinkner.com