Impossible Foods Washed Hundreds of Cars (and Gave Out Branded Gift Bags) for Experiential Promotion

It’s been fun seeing how brands from restaurants to sports teams are making socially distanced promotional giveaways happen. Just because we can’t all get together right now doesn’t mean that people don’t like receiving things from their favorite brands (or their future favorite brands they just don’t know yet).

Impossible Foods, the plant-based food company that’s growing in popularity thanks to its pretty realistic meat substitutes, tied together two short activities—driving through a Los Angeles car wash and cooking an Impossible burger—for one experiential promotion. As it turns out, both activities take about four minutes.

And so, “The Great Pickup Party” was born.

Hey LA - come join us at Los Feliz Car Wash for the #PattyParty! We're here for 2.5 more hours giving out NEW Impossible™ Burger Patties and free car washes. What are you waiting for? pic.twitter.com/FstSpxI5gU

— Impossible Foods (@ImpossibleFoods) August 26, 2020

Last week, Los Angelinos did what they do best—drive en masse—to an impromptu car wash near Dodger Stadium. Once they got their car washed for free, they received packages of the new premade meatless patty from Impossible. The branded bag also included gift cards to Ralph’s and potatoes with cooking instructions, similar to the at-home kits a lot of restaurants began offering at the beginning of the pandemic.

Make sure to head to Los Feliz Car Wash by 6pm for your chance to take home your very own DIY French Fry! #PattyParty pic.twitter.com/2xxfDyXp4r

— Impossible Foods (@ImpossibleFoods) August 27, 2020

“We keep making it more convenient for people to try the product,” Giselle Guerrero, Impossible’s vice president of creative, told Adweek. “And this is the easiest door to walk through yet.”

We think she meant “drive through,” but that’s a pun for another day.

Before, Impossible only sold its hamburger meat in 12 oz. packages like you would see for ground beef. So this “drive-through” function is a great way to introduce existing and potential customers to the new product and give them a complementary car wash in the process.

“We miss doing events, but we had to come up with a COVID-safe solution,” Guerrero added. “For this experience, no one had to leave their cars.”

After hundreds and hundreds of hungry LA drivers got their burgers ready for the holiday weekend, they now got a taste of a new product. It’s a promotional hit on multiple levels, nailing the need for social distancing right now, creating a direct incentive with the car wash in a place where car culture is so prominent, and giving a sample of the product. The positive brand recognition (and health benefits) might just convince someone to try out an Impossible Burger this Labor Day Weekend.