• by Ian MacKellar , May 20, 2013

Category: Sustained Success

Agency: Ogilvy & Mather Canada

Client: Unilever's Hellmann's

Title: Real Food Movement

Marketing Challenge: Three out of 4 North Americans believe mayonnaise is very unhealthy. Some go even further. It is not uncommon to hear mayo described as “junk in a jar.” Our challenge was simple: we needed to distance ourselves from our competitors in a real, believable and credible way. It turns out the answer was right on our label.

Creative Solution: In a recent Canadian survey, 92% said consuming real food is important, yet only 6% feel they are eating enough of it. Eighty-nine percent agreed they would more likely buy a product if they knew the company making it supported real food. This was music to our ears. 

You see, Hellmann’s is made with three -- and only three -- real, wholesome ingredients: eggs, oil and vinegar. 

And with that, the Hellmann’s Real Food Movement was born -- a series of initiatives created to help all Canadians eat more real foods. 

In 2007, we started to build our Movement from the ground up, literally. Hellmann’s trucked in piles of dirt to help create a series of urban gardens across Canada for city dwellers to cultivate and grow their own food. 

The following year, we took to the big screen and created a documentary to educate Canadians on where their food comes from. 

We then put our money where our eggs were, and made an important change to our ingredient list to include free-range eggs.

And then just last year, Hellmann’s expanded its Real Food Movement to include the Real Food Grants Program. This program made over $100,000 available to individuals and organizations that help families and kids connect with real food. 

Results: The Real Food Movement has been a key driver behind Hellmann’s continued outstanding business results.

In 2007, Kraft was the market leader in Spoonable Dressings category. 

Since the Real Food Movement launched, Hellmann’s has taken over leadership of the category with a 51.4% market share. Not bad for something that was once considered “junk in a jar.”