According to the latest ad campaign from plant-based brand Daring, recently-married celebrity couple Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker (aka Kravis) spent a portion of their honeymoon in a bathtub drinking champagne straight from the bottle and eating plant-based chicken sandwiches.
A recent article from The Drum explained that the Daring team actually “accompanied the newlyweds in Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood and developed four recipes for the couple” — which “will be available on Daring’s online cookbook, Unclucked Eats, and the pair will also share them on Instagram.”
The campaign photos were taken by fashion photographer Ellen Von Unwerth and give off the couple’s signature “rock-and-roll” vibe — which syncs up well with Daring Food’s own brand identity.
Source: Daring
But according to Daring’s founder and CEO, Ross Mackay, the partnership’s synergy didn’t end there:
“From the moment our partnership with Kourtney and Travis began there was a clear synergy between Daring’s mission and their personal beliefs on plant-based eating and the positive impact it has on the environment. I could not be more proud to partner with them for Daring’s latest campaign and am grateful for their support and genuine love of our Plant Chicken.”
While Kardashian has been a strong proponent of healthy eating — referencing her personal health and wellness journey of the last 10+ years — Barker has been a tried and true vegan for the last 15 years.
When asked about his feelings on Daring’s products, Barker shared:
“Daring is awesome because it’s super clean and has all-natural ingredients. When I went fully vegan 15 years ago, the options were basically straight vegetables, so I’m excited to see more plant-based choices on menus.”
While Kardashian isn’t vegan, she has joined Barker in eating a mostly plant-based diet — meaning the couple likely won’t face as much public backlash for the collab as Kardashian’s younger sister, Kim, did recently.
The Risks of Partnering with Influencers
As you probably know, Kourtney Kardashian isn’t the first of her family to partner up with a plant-based brand to promote their products to a wider audience. Just a few weeks ago, her sister, Kim Kardashian, joined forces with the well-known brand Beyond Meat in the brand’s latest ad campaign.
In the video, the younger Kardashian shared that she “believes in so much of the mission of Beyond Meat” and is presented with a variety of the brand’s products to taste. She claims she’s lending the brand her “greatest asset — her taste”. With Kardashian as Beyond Meat’s Chief Taste Consultant, the brand will be able to tap into a much wider audience than previously possible thanks to the influencer’s 318 million followers.
However, while some enjoyed the ad campaign and understood that its goal was to pique the interest of meat-eaters (not appeal to those already eating a plant-based diet) — others had a few complaints.
First, many claimed that Kardashian never actually ate the Beyond Meat products presented to her — which she debunked with some behind-the-scenes videos. Others didn’t like the fact that a vegan brand was using a non-vegan brand advocate — claiming that it was inauthentic.
However, the brand is working hard to penetrate a new audience — non-vegans. And the best way to do that is to find methods to up awareness of their products with larger audiences. Like, for example, the millions of consumers that follow Kardashian on social media.
Interestingly, the Daring x Kravis partnership hasn’t drawn as much backlash — whether that has to do with the amount of time it’s been live (the trolls haven’t had time to latch on yet?) or the fact that Barker is a full-time vegan is yet to be known.
Still, partnering with big-time celebrities and influencers will always be a risky move for brands. Some consumers will love it and others will absolutely hate it. It’s up to the brand to decide if the risks are worth the eventual rewards.
And in the case of Daring’s latest ad campaign, we’re pretty sure it will be.
