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 activation saw Hellmann’s playfully show up at Birmingham’s bp pulse LIVE, one of the singer’s arena tour stops. 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. Said poster – initially banned by the Advertising Association – caused an online stir when the singer responded in a TikTok post humorously suggesting the poster was only displaying a sandwich bag. In the clip, which currently has more than 9.6 million views, she also encouraged fans to bring their own sandwiches to her shows.
The integrated campaign was supplemented by a DOOH takeover at the arena, mirroring the album’s lo-fi pixelated visual identity and deadpan language from the bonus re-edition with a tongue-in-cheek headline ‘sandwich and it’s the same but now it has Hellmann’s so it’s not’. The goal is to remind fans that Hellmann’s is the ultimate condiment to make any sandwich taste better in a culturally relevant setting.
The timely activation has been further amplified on social with influencers, including a reality TV star who is a known Charli xcx fan, receiving the prized sandwich bags and capturing their reactions to it. Each ‘club classic’ sandwich was made by Sandwich Society, a local business Hellmann’s has partnered with.
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.”
