Impossible Foods Verbal Identity
Sounds impossible, let's do it
It’s not every day you get a brand that says they want to be bold and then actually does it. On Impossible, we got a shot because they had a big problem on their hands.
The problem
For a long time, Impossible hasn’t focused on Vegetarians or Vegans. If they wanted to move the needle on climate change, their true target needed to be meat eaters who are a bit more flexible, swapping meat for Impossible in one of their weekly meals. The big problem is…no one knows that.
For example, take the reaction to Burger King’s Impossible Southwest Bacon Whopper which, as you may guess, featured pork bacon.
It broke people’s brains. “Meat on your veggie burger?! Hahaha someone at Burger King is going to get fired!”
People spent a day dunking on Impossible and Burger King, but a world where you put bacon on an Impossible burger is exactly the type of world we were creating. Radical change through small diet tweaks. Taking a brand that established a whole new plant-based section of the grocery store and moving them out of it. The Impossible Southwest Bacon Whopper drilled home just how much of a hill we had to climb.
Red means go
To shift everyone’s perception of what and who Impossible was for, our rebrand needed to be blunt. Brick-to-forehead. The category copied its green color, so why not be red instead? A bold move.
Working together
At JKR, design, strategy and copywriting are all tightly linked. We all feedback and build on each other’s work. Look no further than the tagline. The brand behavioral idea is “Making the outrageous possible”. The tagline is “Made Possible by Impossible”. Very close. Very simple. Too obvious? No such thing. Bold move.
An articulation with teeth
Now we were chugging, so we convinced Impossible to double down. It was a decree across client and agency: from this moment forward, Impossible was no longer plant-based meat, it was “Meat From Plants”.
Plant-based meat was what the copycats of the category called themselves. It was something once viewed as revolutionary now made mundane and common. “Meat From Plants” is an articulation with teeth and our voice had to amplify this story of transformation. A perfect introduction to our verbal identity and another bold move.
New brand principles
At JKR, we view rebrands as one cohesive output. As a writer, you must put in time with design and strategy to craft the articulations of the brand’s principles, because everyone uses them.
Inventive.
Audacious.
Spectacular.
Enticing.
These were the principles we built the rebrand upon, from design to typography to motion to voice. Before, Impossible’s voice convinced people we tasted just like the real thing; now we are drool-worthy delicious, made for meat lovers. Before, Impossible’s voice invited people to read research; now we are world-savingly serious, rallying people to our cause. Each aspect of Impossible’s new voice needed to work for our meaty taste appeal yet flex to fit how energizing and confident we were about being better for the environment.
It also had room for fun, like naming our typeface Sans Meat.
Voice in action
Some of our favorite lines like “Save the world by eating it all” highlight both sides of the verbal identity, the taste appeal and the rallying cry. A lane that Impossible owns all to themselves.
Other favorites:
“You won’t believe your mouth” is a line where the audacious and enticing principles of the verbal identity shine through. There’s an inherent confidence and a swagger that almost dares you to try. Will my mouth really fool me?
“Marvel at meat made from plants” is inventive and spectacular, it’s a spotlight on a stage with main attraction energy.
“More beer. More meat. More animals.” is all four working on different levels. It’s inventive in its view of the future. A view that is inherently audacious: you can have your meat and your animals too. It’s spectacular in its more-is-more-is-more attitude. It’s enticing, almost asking why wouldn’t you want to live in this kind of world?
“Let’s do the Impossible” is a determined spin on audacious, spectacular in its dreaming, perfect for the brand when they want to focus attention on the mission for a better, healthier planet.
The takeaway
I’ve always found what Don Draper tells Peggy in Mad Men to be true about copywriting: “You’re not an artist. You solve problems.” Impossible had a big problem. The answer was to become a meat brand.
The art of it all comes from how you solve the problem. And while you may not hang it at The Louvre, “Made Possible by Impossible”, going red, and making “Meat From Plants” our articulation are damn good solves. These bold moves have the spectacular flair of a magician, wowing the crowd with a flourish. They have the audacity of an activist marching in the streets for a better world. They work together to speak to the world Impossible is imagining. Where the grip of people’s meat habit is a little looser, a little more flexible because in this bold new world it makes sense to enjoy some bacon on your Impossible Southwest Bacon Whopper.
Joe Schott is Senior Copywriter at Jones Knowles Ritchie.
Impossible Foods Verbal Identity
Sounds impossible, let's do it
It’s not every day you get a brand that says they want to be bold and then actually does it. On Impossible, we got a shot because they had a big problem on their hands.
The problem
For a long time, Impossible hasn’t focused on Vegetarians or Vegans. If they wanted to move the needle on climate change, their true target needed to be meat eaters who are a bit more flexible, swapping meat for Impossible in one of their weekly meals. The big problem is…no one knows that.
For example, take the reaction to Burger King’s Impossible Southwest Bacon Whopper which, as you may guess, featured pork bacon.
It broke people’s brains. “Meat on your veggie burger?! Hahaha someone at Burger King is going to get fired!”
People spent a day dunking on Impossible and Burger King, but a world where you put bacon on an Impossible burger is exactly the type of world we were creating. Radical change through small diet tweaks. Taking a brand that established a whole new plant-based section of the grocery store and moving them out of it. The Impossible Southwest Bacon Whopper drilled home just how much of a hill we had to climb.
Red means go
To shift everyone’s perception of what and who Impossible was for, our rebrand needed to be blunt. Brick-to-forehead. The category copied its green color, so why not be red instead? A bold move.
Working together
At JKR, design, strategy and copywriting are all tightly linked. We all feedback and build on each other’s work. Look no further than the tagline. The brand behavioral idea is “Making the outrageous possible”. The tagline is “Made Possible by Impossible”. Very close. Very simple. Too obvious? No such thing. Bold move.
An articulation with teeth
Now we were chugging, so we convinced Impossible to double down. It was a decree across client and agency: from this moment forward, Impossible was no longer plant-based meat, it was “Meat From Plants”.
Plant-based meat was what the copycats of the category called themselves. It was something once viewed as revolutionary now made mundane and common. “Meat From Plants” is an articulation with teeth and our voice had to amplify this story of transformation. A perfect introduction to our verbal identity and another bold move.
New brand principles
At JKR, we view rebrands as one cohesive output. As a writer, you must put in time with design and strategy to craft the articulations of the brand’s principles, because everyone uses them.
Inventive.
Audacious.
Spectacular.
Enticing.
These were the principles we built the rebrand upon, from design to typography to motion to voice. Before, Impossible’s voice convinced people we tasted just like the real thing; now we are drool-worthy delicious, made for meat lovers. Before, Impossible’s voice invited people to read research; now we are world-savingly serious, rallying people to our cause. Each aspect of Impossible’s new voice needed to work for our meaty taste appeal yet flex to fit how energizing and confident we were about being better for the environment.
It also had room for fun, like naming our typeface Sans Meat.
Voice in action
Some of our favorite lines like “Save the world by eating it all” highlight both sides of the verbal identity, the taste appeal and the rallying cry. A lane that Impossible owns all to themselves.
Other favorites:
“You won’t believe your mouth” is a line where the audacious and enticing principles of the verbal identity shine through. There’s an inherent confidence and a swagger that almost dares you to try. Will my mouth really fool me?
“Marvel at meat made from plants” is inventive and spectacular, it’s a spotlight on a stage with main attraction energy.
“More beer. More meat. More animals.” is all four working on different levels. It’s inventive in its view of the future. A view that is inherently audacious: you can have your meat and your animals too. It’s spectacular in its more-is-more-is-more attitude. It’s enticing, almost asking why wouldn’t you want to live in this kind of world?
“Let’s do the Impossible” is a determined spin on audacious, spectacular in its dreaming, perfect for the brand when they want to focus attention on the mission for a better, healthier planet.
The takeaway
I’ve always found what Don Draper tells Peggy in Mad Men to be true about copywriting: “You’re not an artist. You solve problems.” Impossible had a big problem. The answer was to become a meat brand.
The art of it all comes from how you solve the problem. And while you may not hang it at The Louvre, “Made Possible by Impossible”, going red, and making “Meat From Plants” our articulation are damn good solves. These bold moves have the spectacular flair of a magician, wowing the crowd with a flourish. They have the audacity of an activist marching in the streets for a better world. They work together to speak to the world Impossible is imagining. Where the grip of people’s meat habit is a little looser, a little more flexible because in this bold new world it makes sense to enjoy some bacon on your Impossible Southwest Bacon Whopper.
Joe Schott is Senior Copywriter at Jones Knowles Ritchie.