Milk brand Oatly threatened with boycott after asking if ‘woke’ parents share their pronouns
An Oatly ad on a trams in Barcelona, Spain. (Jeff Greenberg/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Swedish vegan milk brand Oatly is under fire for taking out a full-page advert in the Guardian asking readers how “woke” their parents are.
The advert, aimed at young people wondering if they need to “parent their parents”, takes the form of a quiz that is titled: “Gender pronouns and green credentials: how ‘woke’ are your parents?”
“Are your parents desperately out of touch or do they know a thing or two about social media protocols and veganism? Take this quiz to find out,” the Oatly advert reads.
Ten multiple-choice questions then ask readers about their parents views on sustainable living, late capitalism, Donald Trump, plant-based diets, and sharing gender pronouns online.
“Where do your parents stand on sharing their gender pronouns?” Oatly asks, with a choice of three responses: A, “They are cheerily oblivious to any contemporary developments in thinking on gender, and are probably a bit hazy on what a pronoun actually is”; B, “They have them prominently plastered on their Twitter feeds and email signatures”; and C, “They regard the idea of sharing their gender pronouns as a deeply suspect imposition on their personal liberty.”
The Oatly advert “seems to want to provoke a generational war by mocking ‘desperately out of touch’ parents who don’t put their pronouns in their email signatures”, one person said on Twitter.
The advert has attracted the ire of online transphobic activists who think people who use pronouns are part of a “misogynist cult”.
“Yikes. Will avoid this Oatly brand entirely. ‘Gender’ pronouns are a badge of one of the most virulently sexist, regressive ideologies I’ve seen,” one person responded.
“What the hell have pronouns got to do with milk?” another person asked.
Their cream is the best in the business but if you want me to continue buying from you, Oatly, don't jump on such things which ultimately disbenefit women and girls. Pronouns in bios/emails should be optional and no stigma or ageism for those who choose not to.
— Sue Henderson 💙 (@HathorsDaughter) January 31, 2021
https://twitter.com/L2PW5NUGJ6fBYmF/status/1356117582995025920?s=20
But that's the point. Groom the kids in order to 'persuade' adults to accept the misogynist cult. And when we've gone who will be left to defend truth and reality? OH is really worried you'll be asked about pronouns at interview.— Loreli (@LoreleiLiBan) January 31, 2021
Inevitably, calls for a boycott of Oatly have now begun.
“Time to boycott Oatly along with all the others,” one “adult human female” wrote on Twitter. “There’s a lot of ‘separating children from parents/turning children against parents’ going on.
“The first thing I think of is paedophiles, as it’s exactly what they long to do. Won’t touch this lot with a bargepole.”
ARGH.
We really like the Oatly Barista for coffee here. Anyone got recommendations for a good tasting, foam-able oat milk please seeing as we won’t be buying @OatlyUK anymore.— Tutting Maud (@TuttingM) January 31, 2021
Funnily enough, @OatlyUK, I’m the vegan in the family and my daughter isn’t. I buy the milk – and I won’t be buying yours again. Trying to drive a wedge between children and parents with this absolute garbage – no thanks.
— Athers (@Athers1977) February 1, 2021
It’s not the first boycott Oatly has faced. In September 2020, consumers launched a boycott after it was revealed that the vegan milk company had been invested in by a private equity firm that allegedly contributes to Amazon deforestation.
The row over Oatly asking about gender pronouns comes just weeks after the brand’s first TV campaign, which saw viewers offered advice on how to talk to their dads about switching from dairy to plant-based milk.
