EVERYTHING BAD IS NOW GOOD FOR YOU—BUT NOT REALLY—IN BEYOND MEAT’S COMICAL NEW AD

By Ethan Jakob Craft  

Beyond Meat’s product line of animal-free steaks, sausages and hamburgers is said to be so much healthier than the real deal, you could be forgiven for thinking that “everything bad is good for me”—or at least, you could be if your name is Rizwan Manji.

In a new commercial for the alternative meat company, the Canadian actor, who played Ray Butani on “Schitt’s Creek,” is told by an off-screen narrator—voiced by Chris Parnell—that plant-based Beyond Steak is healthy for him. 

But Manji takes the advice a step too far, proclaiming that everything from Philly cheesesteaks to doing his own stunts must suddenly be “good for me,” only for Parnell to hit him with a reality check.

See the full video below:

Developed by Chemistry, which ranked No. 6 on Ad Age’s 2023 Agency A-List, and directed by filmmaker Rich Downie of production company Fox Den, the 30-second TV spot anchors a wider campaign Beyond Meat is launching this week titled “This Changes Everything,” which also includes online video, radio, digital, out-of-home, and paid social placements with Meta and TikTok.

“We know that health is a top driver to the plant-based meat category so we wanted to emphasize our products’ key nutritional benefits … while still communicating their great taste to elevate these products for consumers who are looking for plant-based meat options that not only taste incredible, but are better for them and their families,” Akerho “AK” Oghoghomeh, senior VP of brand marketing at Beyond Meat, said in a statement.

It’s that duality that gets to the root of the company’s recent marketing efforts: educating the public that its meat alternatives can be both tasty and often healthier than animal protein. (A key point driven home in the “This Changes Everything” campaign is Beyond Steak’s recent Heart-Check Certification by the American Heart Association.)

Beyond Meat’s latest marketing efforts complement another recent campaign from the company, “There’s Goodness Here,” which debuted in August.

In those ads, a North Dakota farmer leads viewers through a simplified step-by-step process of how his fava beans are turned into plant-based meat products, with a narrator saying, “Our story begins with sun, soil, water and a seed,” while hammering home both the nutritional and ecological benefits of Beyond Steak.