Charity & Campaigns

Veganuary 2025’s “Weird?” Challenges Public’s Cognitive Dissonance in Boldest Campaign to Date

As registration for Veganuary 2025 officially opens, the charity has launched a head-turning campaign to encourage people to try veganism for the month of January.

Through the use of ads with jarring imagery, the “WEIRD?” campaign asks viewers to consider the practices behind some of the most commonly consumed animal products. For example, it highlights that:

  • Sausages are pigs stuffed into their own intestines
  • Cows make milk to feed their babies, just like human mothers do
  • Chicken often comes from birds bred to grow so big that they can barely stand.

The ads are now running across social media, and ITVX Pause ads featuring the graphics are set to run later in the month.

Veganuary 2025 WEIRD campaign
© Veganuary

“Startling reality”

Veganuary 2024 saw participation from around 25 million people globally, and even more are expected to take part in 2025. The campaign launched its first international chapters five years ago in Latin America, Germany, and the USA, and continues to expand with campaigns in Malaysia, Peru, and Canada. In total, Veganuary now has campaigns in 20 countries, and has had participants from every country in the world except North Korea.

In 2024, Veganuary saw particularly remarkable growth in the US, which had the highest number of participants of any country. Hundreds of businesses also took part, and the city of Baltimore even declared January as the official Veganuary month.

Last year, a survey conducted six months after Veganuary found that 80% of participants had reduced their animal product consumption by 50% or more, while 28% had opted to remain fully vegan.

“Most of us see the food we grew up with as ‘normal’, but when we stop to ponder the practices behind many familiar foods, they start to look a little bit weird,” said Toni Vernelli, Veganuary’s International Head of Policy and Communications. “Veganuary is asking everyone to face the startling reality of how our food choices impact animals and the planet and consider whether trying vegan for January might just be a little less weird.”

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