Hellmann’s will return to the Super Bowl, this time pairing with another Mayo, former linebacker and now coach Jerod Mayo.
Mayo appears to have edge rushed out Amy Schumer, who starred in last year’s ad for the Unilever brand. He’s part of a "Mayo x Mayo" team in a teaser released today for the brand’s Super Bowl ad, which, like the brand's 2021 Big Game debut, is part of an effort to get people to “make taste, not waste” when it comes to left-behind ingredients.
This year’s 30-second spot, like last year’s, comes from WPP Group’s Wunderman Thompson. It is slated to run in the fourth quarter.
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In the teaser, Jerod Mayo gets a call from Hellmann’s Special Ops, a.k.a. “Terry Tate,” also known as the “Office Linebacker,” paying homage to a series of Reebok short films that originally appeared in 2000 and became a well-remembered Super Bowl campaign in 2003. Former NFL linebacker Lester Speight returns in that role, which involved a licensing agreement with Rawson Thurrber, writer and director of the original spot, a Unilever spokeswoman said.
For his part, besides this mayonnaise gig, Mayo’s opportunities look bright. He’s currently a coach for the New England Patriots, was among candidates for the open Denver Broncos head coaching job, and could be on the way up elsewhere given a spate of NFL head coaching vacancies.
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The gist of the Hellmann's campaign this year, as last year, is that its mayonnaise is a great accouterment that lets people use leftovers rather than wasting food. The Super Bowl, as one of America’s biggest “food holidays,” also tends to cause overbuying and food waste, according to the Unilever brand, which cites estimates that 40% of all food waste happens in homes.
