‘A’ for Effort

Impossible Foods really “beefed” up their ambitions to convert meat eaters into plant-based buyers.  In its new “Meat Eaters Only” campaign, three television ads unapologetically portray the Impossible Burger as “meat made from plants.”  The three short videos, apparently created for national television, show the “sizzling, mouthwatering, beefy Impossible Burger” frying up to eat.

In a deep, perhaps even “western” sounding voice, the narrator in the first commercial, called “We Love Meat”, says, “We love meat.  Red meat, cooked meat, ooo bubbly meat, meat with cheese on it, more meat with cheese on it…”

You get the picture.  The whole 30-second blurb simply shows a patty on a griddle, then cheese melting over it before it is placed on a bun and prepped to serve.  Finally at the end, after really making me crave a good cheeseburger, a package of Impossible Burger is shown on the counter and a sticker that reads “Made from Plants” is slapped over the label.

The second ad called “Meat Places,” again shows a juicy burger being flipped and sizzling on a griddle top.  The narrator explains that these patties can be found “wherever you’d buy meat.”

“Mmm,” he says over the sound of the frying.  “Like the meat aisle, meat shop, meat store, so many meat places.”

Again, at the very end, he boldly states, “Impossible Meat, made from plants” and the sticker is slapped over the package.

“Yes We Do” rounds out the series of ads, this one tapping into the environmental concerns associated with beef production.

“Scientists say beef is bad for the planet,” the voice says as the video zooms in on a stack of fresh cheeseburgers.  As a ketchup covered bun smooshes onto the stack he says, “But do we really care what those nerds have to say?  Yes we do.”

Again, the tag line and the package of Impossible Burger is shown, then the “Made From Plants” sticker is slapped down.

I must admit, Impossible Foods nailed it on these commercials – if their intent was to make me crave a burger.  The video clips really are mouthwatering and are comparable to a McDonalds or Wendy’s commercial.  The sizzling of the meat, the melting cheese, and the ketchup covered bun topping off the stack make me want to thaw out a package of burger and fire up the grill.

It does not, however, make me want to rush to the store and buy a package of “Impossible Meat: Made from Plants.”  They make it plain and clear that the target audience for this set of television commercials is meat eaters.  But personally, the ads don’t convince me to try the Impossible Burger, they just make me want more meat.

I have to wonder though if my apprehension is only biased.  I know the mission of Impossible Foods is to eliminate animal agriculture, therefore seeing the label immediately turns me off.  I have also tasted an Impossible Burger and an Impossible Whopper and I know they aren’t near as satisfying as that commercial led me to believe.  Does our average consumer know that though?

Do they see that commercial and think, ‘man, if that video is a burger made out of plants, I might just have to try it’?  It looks like a real burger, it sounds like a real burger, and it certainly makes you crave a real burger.  But if you are on the fence or have reservations about beef production, you may think the Impossible Burger is a great alternative after watching that.

To those of us aware of Impossible Foods real mission, the commercial missed the mark.  In fact, it may even help drive beef demand.  To those on the fence, yeah, they may try out a package of Impossible Meat.  At the end of the day though, great commercial or not, the product has to deliver.  And as a meat eater who has tried, it won’t, rest assured.  They can target meat eaters with advertising dollars, but they can’t beat the taste and nutrition of real beef.