CFL Roughriders Apologize to Beef Producers for Ad for Beyond Meat Burgers

The Saskatchewan Roughriders organization has distanced itself from an A&W ad that showed fans of the football club sinking their teeth into Beyond Meat burgers, after the commercial drew ire from ranchers

by Mark Melnychuk – PostMedia

The ad, which was filmed outside Mosaic Stadium during a Rider game, left a bad taste in the mouths of some ranchers. Enough so, it prompted the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association to reach out to the Riders after getting calls from producers.

“The Saskatchewan Roughriders organization has distanced itself from an A&W ad that showed fans sinking their teeth into Beyond Meat burgers after the commercial drew ire from beef producers”

 

“They were concerned about the Roughrider brand being leveraged to support the products in the commercial,” said Chad MacPherson, the association’s general manager.

Within 24 hours of contacting the Riders, members made the short walk from the association’s headquarters on Regina’s exhibition grounds to Mosaic Stadium for a meeting with the club.

The Roughriders chief brand officer, Anthony Partipilo, also wrote a letter addressing the complaints, which was posted on the Stock Growers Association’s website. The letter explained the commercial was not intended make it appear the football club was withdrawing support for the beef industry, and that the Riders were not involved in its production.

“We understand this is a very sensitive issue for your membership and for Canadian ranchers and we apologize for any distress this may have caused,” wrote Partipilo in the letter.

Partipilo said the Riders met with A&W last week to voice concerns about the ad. According to Partipilo, A&W said the ad was not meant to convince people to “stop eating beef.” Partipilo said A&W’s intent was to attract customers who normally don’t eat beef for personal, dietary or religious reasons.

The letter went on to say the meeting was an opportunity to clear up misinformation that had been circulating about the ad.

Partipilo explained A&W is a corporate partner with the club, and has permission to use Roughriders branding in its advertising. Partipilo also said the people seen in the ad were real Roughrider fans and not paid actors.

“The fans featured in the commercial were approached by A&W as they came to the stadium for the game. They were not actors, but actual people voicing their opinion on a food product,” said Partipilo.

When asked why the association wanted to meet with the Riders and not A&W, MacPherson said the chain has the right to promote its products “whether we agree with them or not or how they’re promoting them.” How much involvement the Riders had with the commercial was the question on producers’ minds.

MacPherson said the meeting was cordial and productive. A follow-up meeting is scheduled to take place next week. Partipilo’s letter said the club is willing to learn more about how it can help stock growers.

“We were appreciative of their openness and willingness to talk to us and hear concerns and to continue with the dialogue and see how we can work together going forward,” said MacPherson.

A&W Canada could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Update:

On Thursday, A&W Canada provided a statement to the Leader-Post regarding the ad. The company said it is reaching out to the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association to address their members’ concerns. A&W said it remains an advocate of Saskatchewan beef, and that it buys “millions of pounds” of Canadian beef each year.

Here is the full statement:

“We are reaching out to the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association to address their concerns. It is important that they know we are advocates of Saskatchewan beef and our beef burgers firmly remain the most popular choice on our menu in the province. As a Canadian company born in the prairies, we appreciate how important agriculture is to Saskatchewan communities. Our commercial that celebrated Rider Nation and featured fans enjoying a Beyond Meat Burger runs for a few days more before we switch to a new campaign that features a new menu item for Saskatchewan: a 100% Prairie-Raised Bison burger.

A&W buys millions of pounds of Canadian beef every year and Saskatchewan is one of our largest sources of high-quality Canadian beef, a supply we constantly look to increase. We are proud of our ties to the Saskatchewan ranchers and farmers who also supply us with chicken, wheat, mustard and canola.

We have 46 restaurants in Saskatchewan, with the 47th opening in Saskatoon this year and the 48th to open next year in Regina. Many of our franchisees grew up on local farms and several are still farmers themselves. Our restaurants are staffed with 1,500 great Saskatchewan residents, and we have a long-standing commitment to giving back to Saskatchewan, including raising over a million dollars for MS in the province and a $5 million commitment to the Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence at the University of Saskatchewan.”