THE CHALLENGE

Young Canadians want everyday food to feel more expressive and culturally current. Mayo has never been those things. In fact, it has historically played the part of a background ingredient—always there, rarely noticed. But with new flavours like Chipotle, Garlic Aioli, Spicy and Dijonnaise, Hellmann’s finally had mayo that was made for the spotlight. Now all it had to do was script the plot that would get it noticed and into carts.

THE STRATEGY

To support the launch, we developed #MainFlavourEnergy, a multi-phase campaign built around Jesse Heiman, the internet’s most recognizable background actor, to reinforce the idea that, like Jesse, Hellmann’s is the unsung hero behind memorable food experiences. The strategy unfolded through a carefully orchestrated tease-and-reveal approach, combining earned and paid media, creator partnerships, experiential marketing and organic social. By embracing media culture, humour and nostalgic references, the campaign transformed a product launch into a cultural moment that invited audiences to discover the brand alongside its unexpected leading man.

THE EXECUTION

The campaign began by sneaking Jesse unannounced into the background of creator content, trusting the presence of a world-famous extra to spark curiosity and conversation. It did. A cinematic campaign film (a “oner”), OOH, paid social, and earned push then revealed the new, unlikely face of Hellmann’s flavoured mayo to the masses. In its final stage, the campaign actually took over the stage with a “Flavour Premiere”, held at Toronto’s iconic Paradise Theatre, where media and creators got to experience a special screening of Jesse’s starring role, flavour-inspired food pairings, and yes, even a glambot.

THE OUTCOME

#MainFlavourEnergy successfully transformed a product launch into a culturally relevant campaign that generated curiosity, conversation and sustained engagement from tease through reveal. Jesse Heiman became an unexpected catalyst for online discussion, while integrated earned, social, creator and experiential activations strengthened Hellmann’s flavour credentials with younger audiences. The campaign delivered strong engagement across every phase, increased Hellmann’s owned social following, generated widespread media coverage and establish a repeatable social-first approach for future brand storytelling.