allplants uses AI to challenge ready-meal perceptions

The AI images play with classic fast-food adverts to create a juxtaposition between traditional ready-meals and allplant's own modern offering. The idea behind it is to show that tasty and convenient food don’t have to be unhealthy, and coincide with the launch of three new dishes: Mexican Chilli with Chipotle + Rice, Aubergine Tikka Masala with Pilau Rice, and Pasta Arrabiata in a Rich Tomato Sauce.

“Unlike their ultra-processed predecessors, the new allplants dishes are crafted by chefs, packed with nutrition and made with 100% wholefood ingredients,”​ the B Corp food brand said in a press statement.

The images used have been revamped from recognisable adverts from the 1950s-1990s, with the brand stating that it is “calling out”​ big named brands.

“The visual style of these ads are from an era when fast food and ready meals shot up in popularity,”​ said allplants creative lead Stephanie Johnstone. “We wanted to use this aesthetic to make a point of reimagining ready meals that are classic in flavour but better for you and the planet. AI is similarly a taste of the future, and it was really fun to use new tools to make the ads distinctively ‘allplants’, through our core brand properties of sunshine yellow and bright packaging.”​

This campaign comes at a time when ultra-processed foods are being placed under the microscope by media and consumer alike. Headlines such as the dangers of ultra processed, how to avoid them and alleged links to cancer have all featured in recent press.

Moreover, a survey conducted by allplants in November 2022 comprising 2,800 participants, revealed that 70% of Brits worry about “hidden nasties”​ in their food, with 87% believing ready meals should be healthier. The results also found that more than half of the respondents think the UK Government should introduce a legislation for such meals to only contain wholefoods.