Hens Are behind the Lens of This New Vital Farms Campaign from Preacher

When it comes to honest and ethically produced food, Vital Farms has little patience for Bullsh*t.

While other food producers talk a big game, Vital Farms believes in being honest and transparent, like taking real steps through its traceability initiative to enable people to see a 360-degree video of the farm and the hens that laid their eggs. In addition, the brand launched campaigns, including “Bullsh*t Free” in 2019 and “Where Honest Food is Raised” in 2021, that unapologetically debunked misleading claims.

Now, Vital Farms is evolving its truth-telling, inviting a new perspective, with its first out-of-home campaign titled “Hens Behind the Lens.” For this new campaign, Vital Farms and its creative agency of record, Preacher, let the hens takeover, allowing them to use a custom-built, hen-friendly camera to create a firsthand look at their daily life.

The camera features a pressure-sensor platform that, when pecked or stepped on by a hen, sets off a shutter, producing black and white images of the hens’ surroundings, including vast pastures, their flock and the family farmers who care for them.

“’Hens Behind the Lens’ was born out of a desire to share a genuine look at the freedom our pasture-raised hens have to roam outside year-round,” said Heather Mace, Senior Brand Manager at Vital Farms. “So, we let our ladies share their own story straight from the pasture through beautiful and at times hilarious photos that capture a real glimpse of their life under the sun.”

“Honesty and transparency are at the heart of the Vital Farms brand, and the pastures are proof of that. So we thought, what’s an honest way to show where honest food comes from? By letting the hens create the campaign, of course. And as it turns out, some of them were naturals.” said Kymberli Fraser, Art Director at Preacher. “They took to the medium right away and captured the natural beauty of the pastures in an entirely new way.”

The photography-forward campaign kicks will go live nationally as contextual digital billboards and geo-targeted mobile in various markets across the country including Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Chicago and Austin. Vital Farms has also produced a limited number of copies of coffee table books that will be available as part of a promotional giveaway on the brand’s website later this year, which features the photo collection and an intimate look at the campaign.