The iconic mayonnaise brand Hellmann’s has launched a tactical integrated campaign through Ogilvy UK, coinciding with Charli xcx’s UK BRAT tour and referencing her infamous arena tour poster.
The brand offered queuing fans a free ‘club classic’ sandwich, aptly named after one of the tracks from the Grammy-nominated BRAT album which became a cultural cornerstone of 2024. The sandwiches were given to fans in covetable plastic bags, paying homage to the infamous bag used in xcx’s UK tour poster. The results speak for themselves with Reddit posts, Tweets, TikTok and Instagram videos declaring the campaign a hit. Even Charli xcx herself shared the 'Club Classic'-filled sandwich bag on her social channels.
Alison Steven and Liam Bushby, Global Creative Directors, Ogilvy UK: “BRAT has become a marketing playbook for popstars, brands – and even politicians. But the challenge, like most trends, is that it quickly became saturated. Brands with no real allegiance were jumping onto the zeitgeist for clout. But after seeing Charli xcx’s quick-witted TikTok post reimagining the focal point of her UK tour poster as a sandwich bag, we naturally identified an opportunity for Hellmann’s to enter the chat, because you can’t have a sandwich without Hellmann’s. How could we not take advantage as the artist of the year kicks off her mammoth UK tour?”
Martin Bareau, Brand Director, Hellmann’s: “Tapping into pop culture can be a real winner when your brand has something meaningful to say. We are always listening to what is happening in the world and this year we heard a conversation about Charli xcx and sandwiches that made us sit up and listen. As sandwiches are a Hellmann's staple, we came to the rescue and brought the sandwiches with us. We're proud to be a 119-year-old mayonnaise brand that can still pull off a guerrilla stunt.”
