Oatly is giving out merchandise today bearing the slogan ‘Post Milk Generation’ as a tongue-in-cheek response to a Supreme Court ruling.
The oat drink company said it would be retiring the slogan altogether and giving out ‘contraband’ merchandise to passers-by.
The court ruled last month that Oatly was infringing the legal protection of a designation reserved for dairy products by attempting to trademark its slogan and said that it could not be used on oat-based products.
The court found that the slogan could be used on t-shirts as it was descriptive of a consumer who may wear it, “but has nothing to do with the characteristic quality of the t-shirt”.
“We haven’t dared utter the forbidden m‑word in our marketing for a while, so it feels like the right time to officially put the Post Milk Generation slogan out to pasture,” said Bryan Carroll, general manager at Oatly UK & Ireland.
“The response to the Supreme Court ruling from our community has been genuinely brilliant so we wanted to find a way to get the merch into their deserving hands as a thank you,” he added. “Whether they choose to frame it, wear it or argue about it over dinner, we hope it lives on as limited-edition cultural artefacts in homes and hearts across the UK.”
The Post Milk Generation Outlet will be parked up at Cowcross Yards in Farringdon between 12pm and 2pm today or until stocks last.
Members of the public will be able to collect the remaining hoodies, t-shirts, stickers and tote bags, free of charge.
For those unable to attend in person, a limited amount of merch will be available via a prize draw.
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