Hellmann’s is an American household staple that’s a top-of-mind ingredient nearly all year long – from a topping at summer BBQs to a spread on school sandwiches to a dip on game days. There's just one time of year when savory, mayonnaise-centric eating occasions fall to the back of Americans’ minds and conversations: the holiday season. This delicious time of year is known for its sweet treats, which mayonnaise, and Hellmann's, are simply... not. Cookies? No mayo. Hot chocolate? Nope. Pecan pie? Try again.

Hellmann’s needed to bring out its sweet side– a side that had never been seen before - in new campaign to prove its relevancy during the holiday season. This informed the brand's objectives:

1) Communicate to Americans that Hellmann's can be used in sweet recipes.

2) Show increased demand for Hellmann's during the holiday season.

3) Get consumers to try Hellmann's in a sweet, holiday treat.

Mayonnaise has a long history of being a polarizing condiment. People really love it or really hate it. In the brand’s quest to drive consumption and buzz during the holiday season, it was only natural to find the ‘Hellmann’s’ of holiday treats – a recipe that people really love or really hate.

Enter eggnog: the Christmas tradition that couldn’t be more polarizing.

The only thing more polarizing than eggnog during the holiday season, the brand decided, would be a recipe that brought these two divisive foods together. Thus, Mayo-Nog was born: the ultimate love-it-or-hate-it holiday treat.

We knew releasing such a bold recipe would generate interest and conversation, but what we got was a viral moment that surpassed our expectations, as Mayo-Nog quickly became one of the most talked about recipes of the holiday season.

The brand didn’t have to identify a target audience; they were talking to everyone who hates or loves mayonnaise and eggnog – essentially all adult Americans. To capture such mass attention, the brand had to be bold to stand out.

This ignited their strategy: Go all in on going gross. Using its own product to make something that so many think is gross, even grosser, feels so counterintuitive that Americans would inevitably talk about it. And this would leave both supporters and detractors with an irresistible curiosity to try it.

Best of all, Hellmann's had nothing to lose. As a legacy brand, they knew loyal consumers would revert to typical mayonnaise habits once the holidays ended. The brand could go all-in on 'going gross' because they knew they'd remain unscathed in the long run, recognizing brand love is really just a measure of what a brand can get away with.

With the help of master mixologist, Cody Goldstein, Mayo-Nog was brought to life under six weeks as a sweet, frozen cocktail that utilized the classic eggnog ingredients with one standout change – Hellmann’s mayonnaise instead of egg. On December 1 - when American cultural conversation shifts from Thanksgiving to holiday recipe chatter - Hellmann's and Cody Goldstein shared the recipe for Mayo-Nog on Instagram, paired with a Snickerdoodle Mayo Cookie to showcase Hellmann’s sweet-treat versatility.

As expected, conversation quickly took hold on Instagram, Twitter, late-night TV and editorial, with passionate supporters and haters chiming in. To garner even more buzz, Hellmann's encouraged skeptics and fans in New York to test out Mayo-Nog and cookies at NYC’s Amy Fontaine’s, and hosted a special happy hour for press to preview the pairing. In this case, tasting was believing – whether you liked it or not - and the results showed as such.

Mayo-Nog became the cultural moment of the holiday season, not only breaking through holiday recipe clutter and conversation, but holiday news clutter and conversation. Mayo-Nog was one of the most-talked about recipes, and news stories overall, in the U.S. during December 2022.

Objective 1: Communicate to Americans that Hellmann's can be used in sweet recipes

Results:

1.2 Billion earned + social media impressions.

250+ broadcast placements from Late Night talk show hosts like James Corden to Morning Show darlings like Gayle King and hard news networks like CNN and CNBC.

94% editorial included key message including the offering details, Hellmann’s brand messaging and versatility as an ingredient for sweet recipes in addition to savory.

100% positive sentiment from media tastings.

Objective 2: Show increased demand for Hellmann's during the holiday season

Results:

13% increase in media engagement and 14% growth of media mentions of Hellmann’s in December 2022, compared to one year prior.

During the duration of the campaign, Google searches for Hellmann’s:

-Were on average, higher than searches for ‘holiday recipe

-Outpaced searches for ‘holiday recipe’ on 4 separate days

Objective 3: Get consumers to try Hellmann's in a sweet, holiday treat

Results:

Initial launch post on Hellmann’s owned social channels reached 18K consumers with over 1.4K shares, demonstrating an immediate eagerness to try the recipe at home.

75% of coverage included the Mayo-Nog recipe, and with 900M impressions, got the recipe in millions of Americans’ homes to inspire them to try it for themselves.