Impossible Wants To ‘Solve The Meat Problem With More Meat’

Impossible Foods has launched a “massive” new marketing campaign to reel in more meat-eaters. Taking inspiration from traditional meat advertising, it uses the tagline “We’re solving the meat problem with more meat.” 

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The campaign describes the “problem” with meat as it being too delicious. This makes humans eat too much of it to the detriment of our health and the planet. Impossible says it aims to “reframe” meat made from plants as a “great-tasting solution” instead of pushing people “to change their lifestyle.”

The main commercial for the campaign premiered on Monday during Live from E!: Met Gala. It speaks directly to America’s meat-eaters in a tongue-in-cheek style, opening with a “call-to-action” for them to solve the “meat problem.” It takes the environmental imperative for people to eat less meat and turns it on its head. Instead of eating less meat, Americans need to eat more of it, but from plants.

A meat brand

Impossible, like its close competitor Beyond Meat, is known for making products with convincingly meaty tastes and textures. In its new campaign, Impossible is aiming to change perceptions of it as a burger brand “and reposition itself as a full-fledged meat brand.”

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“Meat eaters have historically shrugged at meat from plants as something that’s not for them – but that couldn’t be further from the truth” Leslie Sims, Impossible’s Chief Marketing & Creative Officer, said in a statement. “We see this campaign as a way to let meat eaters know Impossible meat is the best way to keep eating meat you love, just without a lot of the problems associated with animal meat.”

The campaign comes in the wake of a recent overhaul of the company’s branding. Its previous white and green colors have been replaced with white and red. Packaging used to say “made from plants” but now says “meat from plants.” Research by ProVeg International found that red is seen as signifying tastiness in plant-based meat.

In addition to the main campaign ad, Impossible is releasing a series of shorter ads focused on its individual beef, chicken, and pork products.

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