Twitter Doesn't Know What To Make Of Hellmann's Super Bowl Commercial
Those who caught the Hellmann's mayo commercial during the Super Bowl are pretty divided on the subject. It started with Amy Schumer magically appearing in someone's kitchen. After rummaging through the fridge, they came up with an armful of odds and ends. That's when Schumer announced that she was their "fairy god-mayo." She even went on to say that the spread he was holding was "sad."
Suddenly, Schumer waved her butter knife and magically transformed his refrigerator's contents into a delicious-looking spread of food: spinach and artichoke dip, deviled eggs, nachos, wraps, and a chocolate raspberry cake ... presumably with the help of Hellmann's mayonnaise. By the end of the commercial, the two were enjoying the foods and the ad was discouraging food waste with the tag line: "Make Taste. Not Waste." As Schumer told People of the ad, "My character hates food waste. She hates people who waste food and Hellman's has really educated me on what a big problem food waste is in the country." While encouraging people to use all of the food they buy rather than tossing it (and their money) into the trash, people either loved the commercial or they really hated it. Either way, it was certainly unexpected.
Here's what people are saying about the Hellmann's Super Bowl ad
Those who loved and hated the commercial turned to Twitter to discuss it. One person who really enjoyed it wrote, "Love this commercial. Such a huge Amy fan and Hellmann's of course." Another tweeted, "LOL! The Hellman's Mayo commercial was hilarious, best one I've seen so far." Yet another supporter simply wrote, "pumped for that Schumer Hellmann's commercial." But the really divisive comments came from those who weren't okay with the ad.
One Twitter user showed their brand loyalty and said, "Hellmann's mayo doesn't deserve a Super Bowl commercial. It's Duke's or nothing." Someone else tweeted, "Amy Schumer being in a Hellmann's commercial is gonna force me to swallow my pride and start using Miracle Whip." Another tweet topped it all off with "*me fast forwarding through the Hellman's commercial* 'We're a @DukesMayonnaise family, kids.'" (via Twitter). But brand loyalty isn't where the negative responses to the ad ended.
People are still talking about the Hellmann's ad
One person tweeted, "Fairy GodMayo commercial is bad and Hellmann's should feel bad." Though the ad spoke to eliminating food waste, there was one Twitter user whose girlfriend was more concerned about energy waste. They wrote, "no one ... my gf in the middle of that hellman's commercial: 'close the fridge!'" Someone else's reaction to the commercial might have meant they are definitely not a mayo person. Their tweet said, "That Hellman's commercial just about made me vomit up my dinner," which doesn't paint a pretty picture at all.
While some of the criticism was pretty harsh, one tweet summed up the real question at hand, "Did mayo companies have a really good 2020? Hellmann's has a commercial in the super bowl. Dukes sponsors a bowl game. What gives?" They weren't the only ones who were surprised by the funds the mayo industry must have pulled in to make that ad, which cost $5.6 million for a 30-second spot in 2021 (via Sporting News). Another person wrote, "Hellman's mayonnaise is the last commercial I expected to see during the super bowl lmao." To that extent, another tweet read, "The paycheck has to be pretty high to agree to be the celeb endorser of mayonnaise. Either that or you really love mayonnaise." No matter what you thought of it, the "fairy god-mayo" really did leave an impression.
There was some major confusion about Hellmann's
There seemed to be quite a bit of confusion between the East and West coast on the Hellmann's mayo commercial too. On Twitter, there were multiple West coast people calling on East coasters to clarify what the ad was for on the East side of the country. One Twitter user asked, "Did people in the midwest/east coast have a Best Foods ad or was it rebranded as Hellmann's?" After a response that said it had been a Hellmann's commercial on the East coast, the original tweeter wrote back, "It was Best Foods here. Same mayo company, but it's branded differently in different parts of the country/world. I think east of the Rockies it's Hellmann's and west is Best Foods. Just interesting that they had to make two versions of the same commercial." Clearly, the commercial was rebranded depending on where some viewers lived.
As Modern Farmer explained in 2014, Best Foods and Hellmann's are "the exact same brand — same logo and everything — but you'll only be able to find one or the other." Apparently, those who live further West saw an Amy Schumer commercial for Best Foods. Best Foods encompasses condiments like ketchup, specialty flavored sauces, and more than 10 kinds of mayonnaise (via Best Foods). So, at the end of the commercial, no matter where you were, it was still about mayonnaise. No matter which version you saw or how you felt, it's clear Amy Schumer made a splash in her shimmering gold wings.