The client

Apollo Foods is the New Zealand company behind Boring Oat Milk,  a plant-based brand that’s anything but dull. With its tongue-in-cheek name and stripped-back design, Boring celebrates simplicity: no fuss, no fluff, just great-tasting oat milk made from 100% New Zealand oats.

With its cheeky tone and straightforward approach, Boring has built a loyal following at home. As the brand prepared to launch into Australia with Woolworths, Apollo Foods wanted to make sure Australian consumers would “get the joke” too.

The challenge

Boring’s first major supermarket launch in Australia was a milestone moment — and a big stage. The team wanted to be confident that their creative direction would resonate across the Tasman.

The team wanted to be sure Australian shoppers understood both the humour and the product category. Would consumers realise that “Boring” was an oat milk brand? Would they find the campaign engaging, or just confusing?

Apollo Foods turned to Stickybeak to test how the campaign direction would land and to understand how much education might be needed in pre-launch seeding to make sure shoppers knew exactly what “Boring” was all about.

The approach

Apollo Foods ran a Stickybeak custom test to find out how their creative direction would perform with Australian consumers.

Testing targeted Australian grocery shoppers aged 18–44 who had purchased or consumed plant-based milk in the past three months, ensuring feedback came from category-engaged consumers. The sample included respondents across Melbourne and Sydney, giving a balanced view across key metro markets.

The first part of the test focused on the overall campaign concept - measuring general appeal, brand comprehension, and recall. Respondents were then shown four creative variations to see how different executions influenced clarity, consideration, and purchase intent. This phase identified which mix of creative assets and calls-to-action best supported consumer understanding and conversion intent.

The second half explored location-based versions of the campaign, each featuring the adaptable message “X has got Boring”- where X was a suburb, subculture, café, or region. These four versions were tested comparatively to uncover which was most impactful, and why.

The result

Testing showed that the campaign concept landed exactly as intended - cheeky, clear, and confident.

Nearly half of respondents correctly identified Boring as the brand - strong recall for a fresh name in a new market. The creative with the Boring bottle front and centre came out on top, proving that a simple product cue helps consumers instantly link the humour to oat milk. It also lifted both clarity and purchase intent, showing that creative works best when the product’s part of the story.

In the location-based testing, the subculture-based concept was the standout for its bold tone and visual punch, while Country-based struck a chord with 25–34-year-olds. With Melbourne and Sydney showing near-identical preferences, the campaign proved to have genuine nationwide appeal. 

Armed with these insights, Apollo Foods refined the creative to focus more directly on path to purchase, evolving the messaging to “Australia’s got Boring” and introducing a new line “Boring Oat Milk. Now at Woolworths.” This final campaign rolled out across Sydney and Melbourne out-of-home placements, driving awareness and guiding consumers straight to where they could buy Boring.

Stickybeak’s fast, actionable feedback gave the team confidence that Australians were ready to welcome Boring - and find it on shelves.

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