“Custard, by Giggs”, for Oatly
A culturally connected, custard-focused campaign with rapper Giggs – which delivered a serious message about dairy alternatives in an entertaining, shareable way.
Content
In early 2024 South London rapper Giggs sent a DM to Oatly claiming its Vanilla Custard had ‘changed his (and his son’s) life’ and, as a self-proclaimed dessert lover, he wanted more people to know that being lactose intolerant didn’t mean having to sacrifice your favourite desserts.
We knew that lactose intolerance disproportionately impacts those from Black, Asian and Ethnic minority communities. So, from that first DM, we knew there was an opportunity to do something unique to drive home this message. And in a way that was authentic to the “personalities” of both Oatly and Giggs.
First, we conducted research with the Black, Asian and Ethnic minority community via specialist research agency, Word on the Curb.
This helped us tailor the campaign to the audience (from best message to best medium), and better understand the issue and – importantly – how it impacts lives.
And after various conversations with Giggs (over cake and custard of course!), we had a full creative campaign, which drew heavily on the hype playbook.
Activation
We created a co-branded ‘cake and custard’ kit in honour of the years Giggs had spent finding the perfect dessert combination, not usually an option for those with this condition
A “friends and family” drop built hype and anticipation for the collaboration and got our kits into the hands of some of the biggest influencers. After seeing the kits on social media, we had A-List celebs and UK cultural icons requesting kits – from Jay Z to Raheem Stirling, Jorja Smith, Central Cee, Harry Pinero, Zeze Mills and Jordan Stephens. None were paid for.
We announced the campaign via social, explaining Giggs’ story and why this issue is so important. This included an exclusive interview with HypeBeast as well as a partnership with GRM Daily (both of which over-index with the communities we were looking to communicate with).
A series of light-hearted films were produced depicting different entertaining scenarios with the rapper starring as a bake shop owner in South London. The films were directed by Kelvin Jones and were then distributed across digital, social and PR ensuring a deliberate selection of paid media channels and audience targeting were incorporated to broaden the reach.
Results and impact
- Oatly’s best performing Instagram content in 2024
- On TikTok content also outperformed in terms of positive comments, achieving a 15.38% positive comment rate compared to the usual 7.27%
- The campaign generated 66 pieces of coverage with two thirds of media coverage in titles Oatly had never been featured in before.
But most importantly, in quantitative research conducted two months after the campaign (vs industry standard of two days):
14%
of UK respondents from ethnic minority backgrounds recalled seeing the campaign Ethnic minority respondents were 7 times more likely to recall seeing the campaign than white respondents
Under 35s
And under 35s (of all backgrounds) were more than twice as likely to recall it vs the general population.
94%
Of those who recalled the campaign, 94% said it increased their awareness of lactose intolerance and its impact on ethnic minority communities.
“I think it's the most impressive PR roll out I've ever been part of. Not just because we got great coverage but because we got the whole story out, everywhere.”
– Filip Nilsson, Executive Creative Director, Oatly
This collaboration is genius and honest and we really hope other rappers and influencers start to realise that they can have dialogue with brands that they love without having to wait for brands to approach them.”
– Trapped Magazine
“What a brilliant, culturally resonant and authentic activation”
– Word on the Curb