Pre-pandemic, sales for the mayonnaise category were declining. To make things worse, sales for Hellmann’s were declining at an even faster pace, which meant the brand was losing share. Not even a small glimpse of a relief brought on by the pandemic sales bump made things better. Hellmann’s continued to lose share in 2020.

The brand needed a new strategy to stop share decline and maintain its leadership role in the category. A strategy that grew the brand, set it apart from competitors and enabled them to win with a younger audience.

Our idea: Make Taste, Not Waste.

We would convert Millennials from being food wasters to food savers, inspiring them to make taste, not waste by shifting Hellmann’s from a condiment to an ingredient that saves food from going to waste. An ingredient that transforms those disparate ingredients in your fridge into tasty dishes.

While food waste is a serious issue, the last thing we wanted to do was make someone feel guilty for their actions. So, we approached the topic in a light-hearted and playful way to engage people while not taking away from our important message.

Our stage: the second largest food waste day in the US, the Super Bowl. We have made the Super Bowl a multi-year platform for the brand (2021-2023). If we want to get people saving food, we needed our message to be top of mind right at the very moment food would be wasted.