Hellmann’s is the world’s best mayonnaise. It has a singular purpose: to ‘Make taste, not waste’. Those who believe in Hellmann’s purpose are more likely to support, consider and buy the brand. Doing good is good business.
Hellmann’s wanted to raise awareness of its purpose with young people, rejuvenating the brand with a new audience; especially as this demographic enjoy more condiment choices than their parents, and enlisted Ogilvy to help.
Animal Crossing is a game the world loves to play. People go there to escape the outside world. During the pandemic, the game’s popularity soared. Animal Crossing was a happy place you escaped to at the click of a button.
Ogilvy built Hellmann’s Island as an opportunity to drive association with its purpose - “Hellmann’s stops food going to waste” - and improve market share.
Ogilvy created a bespoke Hellmann’s Island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The island celebrated Hellmann’s purpose and values. As such the game changed to saving food (spoiled turnips) rather than getting rid of them. The island reflected all of Hellmann’s distinctive brand assets, further supporting an association with the brand.
The campaign first launched in Canada in August; and then revamped as a Halloween Island. The island was reprised for a UK Christmas edition. Ogilvy provided a heart-warming, holiday themed virtual experience. The Hellmann’s Island was decked out with seasonal décor. People learned food rescue tips, had opportunities to buy merchandise and products.
From day 1 there was an overwhelmingly positive reaction from the Animal Crossing community. The first 10 minutes saw 1,100 DMs and interest from Canada, US, UK, Latin America, Europe and even Japan. Since the roll out of the 3 campaigns Ogilvy and Hellmann’s have seen strong results with underlying sales growth in 2020 4x that of 2019.
