Leading food startup Impossible Foods launched its award-winning, plant-based burger at all White Castle restaurants nationwide for $1.99 on September 12, making it the first nationwide fast-food chain to offer the Impossible Burger. To spread the good slider news (while simultaneously making a dent in cracking life’s big questions), Impossible Foods and White Castle have partnered with the Wu-Tang Clan trio to debut a four-part online series, “Wu Tang in Space Eating Impossible Sliders,” premiering today. The first episode can be viewed at impossiblefoods.com/
“As America’s home of the original slider, we appreciate the ‘out of this world’ perspective the Impossible Foods team has brought to our partnership,” said Kim Bartley, Chief Marketing Officer at White Castle. “All in a voice as distinctive as our White Castle vision ‘to feed the souls of craver generations everywhere.’ The work is an invitation to open minds and test conventional boundaries – something White Castle has been doing for over 97 years now.”
The series stars Wu-Tang Clan members RZA (having uploaded his consciousness into the computer, RZA 9000), GZA and Ghostface Killah aboard their spaceship — the Wu-F-O — orbiting Earth while answering questions left by fans at 1-833-4-SLIDER and eating White Castle’s new Impossible Sliders. Impossible Foods led the vision for the miniseries, which is set in space. This theme echoes Impossible Foods’ vision for having an impact so great it might be seen from outer space. The company’s recent impact report, Mission: Earth, became a rallying cry for not losing sight of our great fortune in inhabiting this planet.
“We knew we wanted to set an idea in space for our partnership with White Castle,” said Sasha Markova, Executive Creative Director at Impossible Foods. “At Impossible, we’ve become obsessed with the idea that it’s only when you go to space that you realize how beautiful earth is. Then we thought, who can we send up into space? Who are the people who most embody that philosophy? And, in the midst of a crazy time on planet earth, who are the people who might have the answers? We knew it immediately. The Wu-Tang Clan.”
A BOLD VISION
The vision for the miniseries revolved around the shared belief that a new paradigm of living (and eating) must be created, one that emphasizes our need to protect the future of our planet. The resulting episodes represent the purpose-drive, philosophical and whimsy approaches taken by Impossible Foods, White Castle and the Wu-Tang Clan. In anticipation of the series launch, RZA posted a teaser video on Instagram encouraging fellow earthlings to submit questions by calling 1-833-4-Slider, where they could then leave a message with their question. Fan questions, which will be answered in each episode, run the gamut from the sublime (“What is the meaning of life?”) to the practical (“Should I stay in school?”) and even the silly (“What is my dog thinking?”).
The series’ first episode, which premieres today, focuses on the theme of perspective. RZA, GZA and Ghostface Killah marvel at planet Earth from outer space, take relevant questions from fans, invite a six year-old child on board the Wu-F-O and watch a Moonfight between two extraterrestrials. Forthcoming episodes focus on themes including Earth vs. Mars, infinity, and evolution.
AN ALL-STAR COLLABORATION
Shot in the style of ’60s and ’70s science fiction television shows such as “Star Trek,” the Impossible Foods’ / White Castle series was conceived by the all-female creative department at Impossible Foods, led by Executive Creative Director Sasha Markova, Creative Director Giselle Guerrero and Executive Managing Director Heather Huestis.
“We did this in a totally new way,” said Markova. “We brought the director Sam Spiegel in right at the beginning. He helped us concept the idea and imagine the piece. We also brought in Dan Curry, the head writer of The Eric Andre Show to write the show with us. Our approach was to treat this as if we were
making a legitimate piece of great content and through that spirit we could get some of the best people in the business to work with us.”
The cast of participants included critically acclaimed film director Sam Spiegel (N.A.S.A., Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Hey Wonderful, which produced the film series and represents Spiegel for commercials, along with renowned cinematographer Robert Yeoman (Wes Anderson). (*credits run at end of release Fans of the show are being asked to share thoughts (any and all) with Impossible Foods, White Castle and the Wu via social media (#ImpossibleSlider), and to view the content while eating a delicious plant based Impossible Slider at the nearest White Castle.