VFC, which has branded its troll 'cluckwits', describes the critical comments it receives as 'extremely funny'
An ‘activist’ vegan food brand has launched a major new advertising campaign featuring the words of its harshest critics – social media trolls.
Vegan Fried Chick*n (VFC)’s ‘Would You Rather’ campaign is currently live, boasting posters in 2,200 tube cars on the London underground, and on billboards up and down the country.
The company relied on its trolls, which it has branded ‘cluckwits’, for the ‘bold’ ads, using words left by these critics on VFC social media posts.
Sitting alongside the ‘extremely funny’ troll comments are images of the brand’s vegan products, which include chicken-free burgers and bites.
As trolls often tell the brand the unsavoury things they would rather do than eat vegan chicken – including eating their own dogs – the campaign asks the public what they would rather do.
The campaign comes as the brand, which was co-founded by Veganuary co-founder Matthew Glover, is set to increase its coverage 10-fold in 2023, after securing distribution in Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Ocado, Morrisons and Asda.
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VFC is on a mission
In a statement sent to Vegan Food & Living, VFC’s head of marketing, Alison Reilly, said: “We receive rude comments all the time from our haters telling us all the things they would rather do than eat Vegan Fried Chick*n, but of course most of them haven’t even tried it!
“The levels of outrage around the concept of vegan meat alternatives is astounding… and slightly bemusing. After all, we’re simply offering a delicious tasty vegan product so that animals don’t need to suffer, and we can tread lighter on the Earth.
“But, on the other hand, the material was just too good to ignore. The contrast between their extreme language and the delicious food they’re referring to made for a perfect campaign to showcase taste. No preaching, just putting it to the public and letting them decide ‘what they would rather’.”
She added that the meat alternative category has ‘made leaps and bounds in terms of taste and texture, to the point of parity with their animal-based counterparts’ in recent times.
“Some people will always be reluctant to change,” she concluded, “but if people have had reservations about trying VFC, now’s the time to give it a try and see for themselves.”
Fancy tucking into some tasty plant-based poultry? Get inspired with our ultimate guide to vegan chicken
