Planted Launches First National TV Spot
In Planted's first national TV spot in Italy, a grandmother serves ragù and steak at Sunday lunch, the family digs in, and only at the end does everyone learn the meal was plant-based. The airtime behind that reveal comes through a media-for-equity agreement with Ad4Ventures, Mediaset's venture capital arm, and it follows the same structure Planted used for its first TV campaign, in Germany.
The campaign has been running since October 25 on Rete4, Canale5, Italia1 and several thematic channels, with radio spots running at the same time on Mediaset stations including Radio 105, R101, Virgin Radio and Radio Monte Carlo. Engage credits the spot to Publitalia '80. In a media-for-equity deal, a broadcaster supplies advertising space to a growing company and takes shares in return, and Engage's report does not include a value for this one.
Two new products launch alongside the spot. The first, planted.macinato, is a mince meant for ragù, lasagne, fillings and tacos, and the second, planted.spezzatino, comes in pieces that Planted pitches for stews. Both are soy-based and made with a fermentation step that Planted says brings umami flavor and a juicy texture. The company describes them as high in protein and fiber, low in saturated fat and free of additives. They are already available through Italian retail and foodservice.
Marta Residori, Planted's marketing manager for Italy, told Engage that the campaign set out to flip the stereotype of who eats plant-based food, which is why it hands the verdict to the figure who embodies Italian tradition and has mastered its meat dishes. By the end of the spot, the campaign's "Approved by Meat Lovers" tagline extends to three rugby players who arrive hungry and join the table.
The German precedent dates to December 2024, when SevenVentures, the investment arm of ProSiebenSat.1, made a media-for-equity investment in the mid-single-digit millions in Planted, covering campaigns on ProSiebenSat.1 channels and the Joyn streaming platform through the end of 2027. The first spots were scheduled to start on April 21, 2025, with former Swiss wrestling champion Christian Stucki as the meat fan won over by planted.steak under the same "Approved by Meat Lovers" claim. Between the two countries the casting moved from a wrestling champion to a grandmother, while the claim and the financing stayed put.
Ad4Ventures has published its own guidance for founders considering the model, which Global Venturing noted in 2024 is more common in Europe than in the US. Toni Moreno Planas, writing as managing director of Ad4Ventures Spain, says the structure makes sense only for a company already convinced it wants to advertise in that medium. The same post advises against relying on it alone, since companies need cash.
Because a media-for-equity investor ends up as a shareholder, the broadcaster's interests line up with the company's growth well after the spot airs. Nonna's family only had to approve the meal once. Mediaset, paid in equity, needs them back at the table next Sunday.
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