La Vie’s PETA-approved campaign starring rescue pig Léon — and Beyond Meat’s campaign starring Barbara the cow — sparks cross-brand collaboration and redefines how plant-based brands show up together.
Alongside a broader collaboration recently announced with Beyond Meat®, French plant-based food brand La Vie™ is once again making waves — not just with its latest campaign featuring a man eating vegan ham in front of a real piglet, but with a bold, first-of-its-kind invitation to fellow vegan brands: reuse the ad.
Through a downloadable “waiver,” La Vie is inviting other plant-based brands to recreate the now-viral TV spot — swapping in their product and animal of choice. The campaign is both a creative provocation and a powerful demonstration of what cross-brand collaboration can look like in a category under pressure. It positions La Vie not only as a leader in marketing ingenuity, but as a brand committed to reshaping the rules of competition.
The two brands had been working in parallel on two creative campaigns and with shared objectives – animal welfare and helping people make better food choices. Beyond Meat recently unveiled its own campaign starring Barbara the cow — a similarly bold and emotionally resonant take on the role of animals in the plant-based movement. Rather than being one-off ideas, both executions revealed a deeper alignment: a shared belief in the power of animals to tell a different kind of food story. Recognising this synchronicity, La Vie and Beyond Meat chose to join forces and invite the rest of the industry to do the same.
“This campaign was never meant to stay ours,” said Romain Jolivet, Chief Marketing Officer at La Vie. “It’s a visual that makes people stop, smile, and think. When we saw Beyond Meat had been playing with the same idea, we realised something bigger was happening — and we had the opportunity to turn it into a movement.”
To accompany the campaign, La Vie released a branded, tongue-in-cheek waiver addressed to “any vegan brand in the UK, and further afield.” Developed by Albert Albert Creative Studio, the “waiver” reflects La Vie’s playful tone but serious mission — a bold demonstration that brands can take big creative swings and do it together.
Rob Bennett, General Manager EMEA at Beyond Meat, shared his thoughts on the collaboration with La Vie, stating:
“Our collaboration with La Vie underscores our shared commitment to animal welfare and making better food choices. By combining our great tasting plant-based burger with their innovative plant-based bacon, we’re offering consumers a delicious meal that aligns with their values.”
Brands including THIS™, Juicy Marbles, and Heura have already engaged with the campaign, with more expected to follow in the coming weeks. Each will be invited to reinterpret the ad through their own creative lens — building a movement rooted in diversity, solidarity, and a bit of mischief.
“These aren’t just ads,” added Jolivet. “It’s about a shared message and common purpose. In a world of noisy claims, La Vie’s waiver campaign and our broader collaboration with Beyond Meat are proof that great minds really do think alike — and stronger still when they work together.”
For more information on La Vie, to watch the new ad or learn more about Léon the rescue pig, and the Waiver please visit: https://www.laviefoods.com/en/copyright-waiver-thingy-to-copy-our-tv-ad/ or follow on social @laviefoods.uk.
