https://nypost.com/2022/06/28/vegan-burger-hyped-for-tasting-like-human-meat-wins-award/
Vegan burger hyped for tasting like ‘human meat’ wins award in Cannes
If you’ve ever had the desire to taste human flesh, you’ve now got a chance to give it a whirl between buns.
Swedish plant-based food brand Oumph! created the unusual flesh-flavored burger, which won a Silver Brand Experience and Activation Lion at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity last week.
If you’re concerned the special-edition bizarre “meat” may not be realistic enough, do not fear — a spokesperson said they’ve done their best to make sure it’s as lifelike as possible, crafting it from soya, mushrooms and wheat protein as well as plant-based fats and “a mysterious spice mix.”
Despite the apparently eerie similarity to human flesh, the spokesperson assures “no humans were injured in the development of this product.”
The advertisement — released on Halloween eve in 2021 — shows a dimly lit hallway with a figure walking towards a doorway, cutting between clips of a cook preparing some meat and rows of knives before “plant-based human flesh” flashes up on the screen, as well as “be scared” and “relax” before daring viewers to taste it.
“I am incredibly proud of this award and the great teamwork behind it. Our mission is to change how people eat, and it is our duty to use creativity as a tool to make this change happen,” said Henrik Åkerman, global brand leader at Oumph!.
“As a small brand we need to be bold and ready to push some boundaries to breakthrough, and I think this campaign is a good example of us doing just that,” he said.
Tomás Ostiglia, executive creative director at creative agency LOLA MullenLowe, said a problem with selling plant-based products was people often said they don’t replicate the taste of meat very well.
“A claim most are tired of hearing and even more tired of being disappointed by,” he said. “And of course, a solution was to make a tasty plant-based human meat burger.
“The bravery of launching a risky idea that is 100% on-brand is always rewarded,” Ostiglia added.
Oumph! co-founder, corporate chef and head of innovation Anders Linden said developing a plant-based burger that tastes of human meat was “exciting, and a little bit scary.”
“We developed this burger in no time as soon as we knew what taste and texture we were after,” Linden explained.
“This is our ultimate and weird way of showing that it’s possible to create any type of food by using just plants.”