For the love of mayo

Happy Friday,

Sorry for skipping a week, Debby visited my basement and had to attend to the mess she left on her way out and grateful for my insurer's help.

Anyway, back in black, fired up and ready to go. 

Many brands are trying to appeal to Gen Z, but only some have been able to resonate at scale. They fall short in authenticity and the ability to jump on trends in a timely manner. This risk is worth taking when you realize that Zs influence 93% of household decisions.

Cerave, who understood that Gen Z would kill for Micheal Cera (who knew), delivered one of the best 2024 campaigns in my book. And keep surprising their audience with their latest soap opera campaign. (SOAP opera, get it?) 

Mayo hasn't been experiencing the same renaissance as ketchup is 

Known for their jingle, clever copywriting, and appetizing ads, many have grown up putting mayo on everything, even pizza. Here are a few if you feel nostalgic this morning: 1973, 1975, 1976, 1990, 1991, and 1996.

Sadly, Hellman's Mayo seems to be throwing everything at the wall, hoping for one to spread (get it?) Tackles Food Waste, Ham and Brie, and Mayo Cat all falling short of the brand building 3 golden rules:

• Authenticity | Amplifying their brand purpose

• Consistency | Demonstrating it across communication, gravitas, and appearance

• And the most important one, Differentiated | Making it memorable to your target audience

Their latest one is definitely not differentiated, and an ode to Cerave, the whispers, the music, the curtains, the shirt, the tone, trying to imitate what worked so well for them. Watch both back to back, I dare you.

Even if imitation is the best form of flattery, I'm sure, Cerave feels it's a little too close to home and should rely on GenZ ninja-level BS detectors for unauthenticity to tell Hellman's it might be time for a rebrand.

Who knows, mayo might be calling Heinz's agency Rethink as we speak to find their voice again.

See you next week