Watch Hellmann’s Super Bowl ad, with a talking cat taking on food waste

Hellmann’s will return to the Super Bowl with a talking cat of sorts—as well as a couple of human celebrity appearances. The Unilever brand’s 30-second spot in the second quarter of the Feb. 11 game on CBS revolves around “Mayo Cat,” who gets at least 15 minutes of fame after Kate McKinnon discovers she can talk and suggest an ingredient that makes leftovers come together. Super Bowl commercials Tracking the latest brand and agency plans Enter here Among other things, Mayo Cat begins a relationship with Pete Davidson that proves short-lived but does include a paparazzi moment at a Feeding America event—and a breakup cover story in People magazine. “You lasted longer than most,” McKinnon tells the cat at the end. Unlike his broken bond with Mayo Cat (whose offscreen name is Chipmunk), Davidson’s relationship with Hellmann’s has considerably more staying power. The comedian makes his third consecutive cameo in a Super Bowl spot for the mayo brand, this one directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon of Speck Gordon. VML is the creative agency and WPP sibling Mindshare is the media shop behind the spot. A long-form 60-second version of the spot will also play across social channels, including YouTube, TikTok and Meta properties. The Hellmann’s Super Bowl “Make Taste, Not Waste” campaign has lasted longer than most Super Bowl ideas, too. It survived the condiment brand coming under criticism from a Unilever investor for infusing its advertising with purpose. And it survived new Unilever CEO Hein Schumacher giving purpose advertising some new scrutiny after his predecessor, Alan Jope, pushed all Unilever brands to work purpose into their marketing. The campaign lasts because it’s working both in raising awareness about food waste and in improving Hellmann’s reach with younger consumers, said Chris Symmes, senior director of dressings for Unilever North America. “Over the last three years, we’ve seen a 24.4% increase in the conversation around food waste on social media following the big game,” Symmes said. “We feel like this is obviously incredibly important to our purpose.” Hellmann’s (along with west-of-the-Rockies sibling Best Foods) is in 50% of U.S. households. But it under-indexed four years ago with Gen Z and millennials, Symmes said. “Those two cohorts care deeply about sustainability,” he said. “So our ‘Make Taste, Not Waste’ positioning has played an important role in resonating with those consumers and driving new penetration with those cohorts.” The Super Bowl ad will carry Best Foods branding in markets where it is sold. Mayo Cat, besides showing up in the game, will show up on Sphere in Las Vegas in the days before and after the game, making Hellmann’s the first Unilever brand to advertise there. What to know about Las Vegas Sphere advertising “We felt like it was a perfect opportunity to generate buzz for our Super Bowl spot,” Symmes said. “We’re always looking at new ways to try out non-traditional platforms.” Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs

Watch Hellmann’s Super Bowl ad, with a talking cat taking on food waste

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