"Help your parents see that you're right and they're wrong" : A critical discourse analysis of Oatlys advertising campaign Help Dad

The aim for this study is to research Oatlys advertising campaign Help Dad from the perspective of how their values concerning sustainability are shown through the campaign. Based on the findings and result of the analysis, a discussion is held on if and how Oatly create discussions within society. The empirical material for the study is the Help Dad campaign which consists of four television commercials and an editorial piece from The Guardian. To examine the material, the critical discourse analysis along with the multimodal critical discourse analysis is applied. Interdiscursivity, theories in framing, semiotic theories and concepts in brand communications are used to understand Oatlys campaign, to deepen the discussion on how they market their values. The results show that Oatly equip a type of woke branding and even some “woke-washing” aimed to make a statement and seemingly influence young people to discuss sustainability with their parents. Parents are portrayed as unaware of social and political struggles in the world, while youths are portrayed as clever and strong. Oatly uses different techniques to build a loyal and friendly relationship to their young audience, while trying to convince them to take on more power within their family. They also send a strong message which shows their negative views on dairy products, by comparing drinking milk to alcohol abuse. Lastly Help Dad is criticized for capitalizing on difficult issues and because of the polarizing rhetoric used throughout the campaign. Even though the campaign has gotten a lot of negative reactions, Oatly won a prestigious marketing prize for the commercials. Since this campaign can be seen as polarizing and capitalizing on vulnerable groups, it sets a tone that doesn’t seem like the direction marketing should strive for