Plants don’t hit. They won’t call you names. Nary a one has even raised its voice in anger. And yet, a lot of people find plants terrifying.

We told them to get over it.

Created with the input of 30,000 consumers, NUGGS are a plant-based chicken-nugget alternative with a bold voice in the Direct-to-Consumer world. The issue was how to translate that bravado into foodservice, where the restaurant’s brand gets dibs on tone.

The “Why Be Chicken” campaign invited patrons to put on their brave pants and order the plant-based nugget, because.

With a tightrope walking direct mail, daredevil merchandise and a custom plant-chicken to-go container, all the elements supported consumers in their leap to overcome fear and let curiosity win.

With in-person sales visits and demonstrations being nearly non-existent given the realities of the world today, it becomes invaluable to send something show-stopping to a potential customer. This was the job-to-be-done for the NUGGS direct mail which utilizes bold brand photography and messaging, a magnetic gatefold cover and a popup tightrope walking nugget to capture attention and present product information.

The “Why Be Chicken” campaign imagery was used in both a range of consumer-facing on-premise merchandise (everything from posters and yard signs, to table tents and counter cards, even social post templates) and also employed in communication materials to the operator (emails, sales decks, and sellsheets).

Custom plant-chicken to-go containers were created as the preferred buzz-worthy method of NUGGS transit to keep them crispy, warm and further establish key brand attributes.

This campaign has now been deployed in both the United States and Canada.