A Friends of Animals member in Los Angeles did a double take recently when she spotted a large billboard with this provocative pitch: “Injured by a Vegan? Call Seymour Loudermilk & Associates, 866-HATEVEGANS.”

Outrageous, you say? You bet! And that’s the whole point of the eye-catching sign. Callers to the toll-free number soon realize that the ad is a spoof, and who the joke is really aimed at: The thin-skinned meat eaters who feel threatened by those who follow a vegan diet and lifestyle—and all too often lash out online with angry, irrational reactions to veganism.

The humorous take on LA’s ubiquitous ads for injury attorneys is the brainchild of Eat Differently, a vegan advocacy group whose “mission is to inspire the world to eat plants, not animals.”

“It’s been challenging for us [vegans] to get the message of eating plants, not animals, to the general public,” said Jim Amos, the creative force behind Eat Differently who honed his marketing chops as a former head of distribution for Sony Pictures. “They turn away from images of factory farming and tune out health and environmental messages. So what do we do to reach them? Humor.”

The Hate Vegans campaign definitely hits the funny bone and has struck a nerve: To date the toll-free number has received nearly 2,000 calls, with the hatevegans.com website attracting 164,000 visits, including hundreds of requests for more information.

“People are pulling over and calling the number from the billboards, which is unheard of—they don’t even wait to get home,” said campaign spokesperson Lori Amos.

Eat Differently’s goal was to get non-vegans to say, “Wait…what in the world is this? Is this for real?—and for people to share the phone number or website with their friends and family,” Amos adds. “Once they go to hatevegans.com, we provide vegan messaging in a way that is non-threatening to meat eaters and that leads to meaningful conversations.”

Launched in June and scheduled to run through 2024, the Hate Vegans campaign includes billboard and bus-stop ads across Los Angeles, spots on Hulu TV and radio (Spotify), digital ads and more. New videos and billboards are in the works that will continue the jokey fun. “Eventually we will roll-out the storyline of a quack doctor, and Seymour Loudermilk will be running against [Incumbent George] Gascon for LA Attorney General” this November, says Lori Amos. “We thought it’s time to completely upend the pro-vegan marketing world.”

We say any effort to further educate non-vegans and inspire people to change what’s on their plate deserves a hearty Cheer and a big chuckle from Friends of Animals.

But please, please don’t tell any meat-eaters you know that if they’ve been injured by a vegan’s “warped ideas and smug contact” they may be entitled to compensation by calling Seymour Loudermilk at 866-HATEVEGANS or visiting hatevegans.com.

Interested in learning more about being vegan? Check out our vegan advocacy page here on our website, get inspiration from our vegan recipe section and visit our store to view our three vegan cookbooks: The Best of Vegan Cooking, Dining with Friends, and For the Love of Dog Biscuits.