Oatly: Blind Taste Test

Oatly’s Blind Taste Test: OOH turning heads (and taste buds)

Oatly recently stirred the pot with a playful UK-based OOH campaign, putting its Barista Edition oat milk to the ultimate test: taste, without bias. Their goal was to challenge preconceived ideas around milk alternatives, and see what people truly thought when they don’t know they’re drinking Oatly. 

Their results? Most participants liked the coffee, that is, until they were told it was Oatly. This OOH campaign strategically takes these moments and works them into a (somewhat self-deprecating) set of ad creatives for billboards across the UK.

Let’s dive into it.

The test behind the creative

In a series of blind taste tests, participants unknowingly tried coffees made with Oatly, and most of them (53%) liked it more than the classic full-cream. The kicker was that these same people were less enthusiastic when told upfront it was Oatly.

Cue the campaign’s hero line: “People love Oatly when they don’t know it’s Oatly.” Bold and a bit self-deprecating, the line formed the creative foundation of a nationwide OOH rollout that spanned cities like London, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Edinburgh, and Glasgow.

The campaign uses bright, blocky posters with slogans like:

• “This person said their coffee was perfect. Then we told them it was Oatly.”
• “He said it was ‘delicious’. Then we told him it was Oatly.”

The brand wasn’t shy about the campaign’s aim: to challenge oat milk sceptics and convert new fans by proving that taste - not preconceptions - should lead their decision making.

A multi-formatted campaign

Oatly’s out on the road with one mission: get more people to try the good stuff. Their blind taste test uncovered a mindblowing stat: if every dairy drinker gave Oatly a sip, we could be looking at four times the current oat milk sales. That’s a whole lot of potential, just waiting to be poured.

In addition to the billboard blitz, Oatly has:

• Teamed up with coffee chain Grind to offer 200 free coffees across 14 stores
• Hosted a live NTS Radio breakfast show and sampling event in Shoreditch
• Brought it’s biggest sampling tour to the UK, with an on-the-go taste-test van

The sampling tour is all about building buzz and bringing new fans into the fold, with OOH working hard at the top of the funnel. They’re kicking off the campaign across several platforms, including social media, Spotify, Netflix and cable TV, PR and influencer partnerships, and of course, a healthy splash of OOH.

Embed: https://www.instagram.com/p/DHVm6KVowfU/?hl=en 

Why this campaign works

Oatly’s campaign isn’t just about their cheeky antics, it’s strategic.

Format strategy

It nails message-to-medium alignment. The concept starts with a behavioural insight (people like Oatly until they know it’s Oatly), and instead of brushing that under the rug, Oatly turns it into the hero idea. By using billboards - a medium that’s bold, public, and impossible to scroll past - they take a private consumer bias and challenge it, loudly and proudly, in the middle of the street.

This wasn’t a flashy interactive screen or augmented reality stunt, and that’s exactly the point. Oatly chose static billboards and classic posters to match the simplicity of the message. By leaning into high-reach placements in high-traffic areas (like tube stations, street-level posters and city billboards), they achieved visibility and relatability. It’s a good reminder that clever creative on a well-placed poster still punches above its weight.

The creative is simple, fast, and effective. 

Just a single punchline for the copy, minimal visual clutter, and a comical double-take - that’s textbook in good OOH. People have seconds (maybe less) to absorb a message, and Oatly’s delivers in two lines or less. They don’t try to be perfect; the tone is vulnerable, self-aware, and fun. Embracing their “haters” challenges preconceived ideas around their product, which is especially important when you’re also selling an idea.

Oatly knew they had a perception challenge, not a product problem. So rather than hide behind a safe, digital-only strategy, they took it public. OOH works especially well for brands needing to shift mass opinion, because it doesn’t rely on algorithms or echo chambers. It puts the message into the real world, where everyone—skeptics and superfans alike—sees it. In a campaign like this, OOH becomes more than media. It’s proof of confidence.

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Part of a smart, multi-channel strategy. 

OOH here is doing what it does best: top-of-funnel reach, building intrigue, normalising the product in everyday settings. But it doesn’t exist in isolation, the campaign flows straight into IRL sampling, in-store collabs, events, PR, and digital placements. It becomes a full-funnel experience that connects mass exposure with real trial and purchase.

Where programmatic DOOH fits in

While Oatly’s campaign was built on traditional OOH formats, programmatic DOOH could take this kind of strategy even further. Imagine running real-time creative variations based on different cities, demographics, or even time-of-day coffee habits. Programmatic lets you A/B test headlines, adjust placements based on performance, or go live in new locations as the campaign gains traction, all without rebooking media manually.

For brands like Oatly (or anyone launching a taste test or behavioural experiment), programmatic OOH adds agility and insight. You can respond to campaign momentum as it happens, double down where impact is highest, and keep messaging fresh across the board.

That’s where platforms like me come in, giving brands full control of when and where their ads appear, without the long contracts or slow turnaround of traditional OOH. Whether you’re launching a tour, running a reactive message, or just want to hit the right people at the right time, programmatic DOOH is built for it.

Key takeaways for your next OOH campaign

• Find the tension. What are people already saying about your brand? Tackle it head-on.
• Use creative that works in 2–3 seconds. Short, punchy, and visually clean wins.
• Let OOH do the heavy lifting at the top of the funnel, and then support it with trial-driving activity (sampling, PR, influencer).
• Confidence sells. Putting a bold, self-aware message on a giant billboard tells people you mean business.

Thinking about taking your taste test to the streets?
Try it the CAASie way - fast, flexible, and fully in your control.

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