A masterclass in counter-positioning

My friend Jason posted about meat cereal and one tiny detail caught my attention (other than the fact it’s cereal made from beef).

Alongside his order, the company threw in a thank you note and a sticker.

The sticker was in the shape of a cow with the words “no thanks Greta”.

I get overly excited about strong brand positioning.
And this little brand moment sparked that excitement.

Let’s get into it.

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How we ended up with snide meat cereal stickers

To understand the reference, we need to wind back the clock a little. Let’s throwback to 2012. A niche dairy alternative milk brand had just hired a new CEO and with that, a new creative director. They had a mission to grow the brand, but I don’t think anyone could have predicted the scale of what would come.

Of course, I’m talking about Oatly. John Schoolcraft joined Oatly with a clear brief: reinvention. And that is exactly what they did.

If you’re only going to read one article today, close this tab and go read this instead. This article has lived rent-free in my head for 10 years and honestly, I still reference it a lot in my work with Mind Control today.

The inspiration behind the reinvention is summed up in a brutal line: “you see all the numbers, and the statistics, and the scientific reports, and you realise that animal-based eating is killing the planet and killing people”.

Their repositioning was grounded in a move towards a plant-based society. They became overtly political in their messaging, taking the stance that brands should become more human and adopt personalities that people would want to be friends with.

This was revolutionary in 2012. By 2016, Oatly had doubled their sales to over $40m. And by 2026, they’re at almost a billion dollars in revenue.

And whether you love them or hate them, we can’t deny that Oatly’s model has been a mega success. They set out to create a lifestyle brand and that is absolutely what they’ve done. For millions of people, switching to dairy-free milk was more than a dietary or allergen decision, it was grounded in a sense of activism, or at the very least, the idea of doing less harm in the world.

A movement led by a 16 year old

If you cast your mind back ten years, you’ll recall a pre-COVID world where people were starting to actually give a shit about the impact humans have on our environment. And the rumblings of climate change discussions were starting to lead to real action. Plastic bag bans, corporations were pledging to cut waste by 2025, and a genuine sense of momentum towards clean energy and a brighter future (cue the sparkles).

A lot of which was turned into a cultural flashpoint by Greta Thunberg, an activist who rose to fame for her ability to weaponise communication and frustrate the living fk out of baby boomers.

And this is where the moment comes full circle.

Meaties including an anti-Greta sticker in their meat cereal isn’t just a cute insider reference. It’s a deliberate effort to trigger one group and bond with another.

This is classic counter positioning. It’s very much the type of energy that made Oatly popular in the first place. It’s just pointed in the opposite direction.

A key challenger brand trait

Counter positioning is a way of defining a brand in opposition to an existing norm, belief or dominant player. If you anchor against something that’s already understood, you can borrow the meaning and then flip it to hack an existing mental model.

When Meaties say “no thanks Greta”, they are deliberately signalling to their audience that they are anti-woke, anti-vegan and a little bit like that friend who says what they want at dinner parties without thoughts of repercussion.

It gives a clear tribe marker. The audience are forced to answer the question “am I the type of person who agrees with this?” and that alignment to brand values translates into stronger loyalty.

Pick a side

Most brands are too scared to stand against anything.

So they hide behind “better”, “natural”, “premium” and wonder why no one cares.

Meanwhile, brands like this pick a side, draw a line, and make you react.

Some companies have a mission or purpose to improve their marketing.
Others use marketing to improve their mission.

Which one are you?