Impossible Foods is “looking to dial up mainstream, mass-market awareness next year,” reckons The Drum, which postures (tenuously?) that a Super Bowl spot could be on the table for 2021. Here we take a look at some other recent TV spots from some big vegan brands, hitting TV screens now that vegan is as mainstream as football.
Impossible’s Rachel Konrad states in the Drum article that the brand operates a “lean in” agenda and with this ideology it tackles its competitors with force. Its competitors however, are not other plant-based companies who have a common goal of disrupting animal agriculture; recently we reported that 92% of Impossible Burger sales come directly at the expense of animal meat products. Excellent news for the movement and for the animals.
Let’s take a look at some other vegan brands hitting the mainstream with TV ads in 2020 and hopefully continuing to make sales at the expense of animal products.
Dr Praeger’s Sensible Foods (upcoming TV spot)
Dr Praeger’s is launching its first TV ad spot with the tagline ‘Powered by Praeger’s‘. In 2019 the brand launched the first product in their ‘Perfect’ meat-alternative line, the Perfect Burger, as it predicted trends for an increased interest and demand for clean, high-protein alternatives to meat. The 30-second spot follows the Purely Sensible Hero Vegetables as they dominate the frozen food aisle and fight off nutritionally inferior foods. The spot, aimed at children, sets out to celebrate the power of plants.
The Meatless Farm
Just before it launched its boldly effective M*** F*** campaign across the streets of London, then later continued this campaign into the M*** F*** vegan drive thru concept, the ever- strategic brand Meatless Farm launched its first TV campaign in the UK to highlight its new pea protein recipe.
Beyond Meat
Last month Beyond Meat famously launched its first televised ad campaign, which debuted during the Lakers vs. Jazz game on August 3rd, featuring a voiceover by actress and brand ambassador Octavia Spencer.
The ad was received with critical acclaim and asked “What if we all go beyond?” – perceived by most viewers as thought-provoking and successful in its aim. The company saw the new campaign as an “initial call to action,” the start of a movement aimed at showing that small actions can make a big difference, stating that it hopes to make plant-based meat accessible to all communities.
https://youtu.be/L44U7wn9IjQ
“We are launching this movement to invite everyone to join us in a journey of creating the future of food,” said Beyond’s Chief Marketing Officer Stuart Kronauge at the time. “What’s amazing is that this future is already happening, and we hope even more people feel inspired to be a part of it.”
Earlier this year we reported that Beyond Meat had a national TV spot through Dunkin, featuring one of its ambassadors and investors, Snoop Dogg, showcasing the plant-based Beyond Sausage® Sandwich. The Beyond Sausage premiered on TV with Dunkin Donuts in the US and is now global with multiple foodservice companies and stores retailing internationally.
Iglo
Iglo’s Green Cuisine has launched a new campaign, both on TV and across digital channels, in several European languages. Iglo claims to be the largest and best-known frozen food brand in Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal. It is a brand under the Nomad Foods banner, which also houses Findus and Birds Eye; two huge names in fish processing. Birds Eye also ran a TV ad campaign during last summer for its plantbased line.
https://youtu.be/g1HSRnB8jqU
TV is still a powerful platform despite the influx of internet channels, utilizing that with social media and YouTube covers a lot of bases in getting products seen in homes. The pandemic has highlighted the problems with our food systems created by animal agriculture and hitting consumers at home and not just in the meat aisle of the grocers, is sure to persuade many die-hard meat-eaters to try meat-free brands.
