Hellmann's is putting national football media behind its Chipotle and Spicy mayos.
The new "Call for Hellmann's" campaign from VML New York treats game day food choices like football play calls.
"Make the Call" sends Hellmann's Real Mayonnaise onto a burger.
"Chicky Tenders" calls in Chipotle and Spicy mayo for chicken tenders.
The two spots run original music inspired by classic football films, and actors call out each ingredient like a play.
Hellmann's is also taking the campaign to the sidelines through its college and NFL partnerships.
Manny Mayo's food truck stops at MetLife Stadium on September 13 and September 20.
Lincoln Financial Field follows on October 4, then Gillette Stadium on October 11. The truck will serve sliders, trivia, and giveaways.
The brand will run the campaign across national TV, streaming, and social throughout the football season.
"Football and food have always gone hand in hand and Hellmann's has a natural place in so many of the dishes that fans reach for on game day," Jessica Grigoriou, marketing SVP for condiments at Unilever North America, said in a press release.
Hellmann's is spending one of its biggest annual media windows on the fastest-growing part of its lineup.
Unilever said in 2024 that flavored mayo accounts for more than 7% of U.S. mayo sales.
And this share is the piece that "Call for Hellmann's" is designed to grow.
Chipotle and Spicy now get the media weight that Hellmann's usually reserves for Real Mayonnaise.
This approach gives the football season a clear advertising strategy for the flavored range.
Hellmann's Calls Flavored Mayo Into the Play
The two spots run the same joke, with actors barking ingredient names like snap counts.
"Make the Call" opens on a man grilling a burger, and a "foodie QB" then assigns each ingredient a football-style command.
Hellmann's Real Mayonnaise gets the call, followed by pickles, lettuce, and tomato.
"Chicky Tenders" gives the flavored portfolio more room.
The second film opens at a tailgate cookout outside a stadium with the call "Chicky, chicky tender!"
Chipotle and Spicy get called next, then they're promptly squeezed into dipping bowls.
Both films close on the tagline, "Make the call. Call for Hellmann's."
"With 'Call for Hellmann's,' we're having fun with language fans already know and love, while celebrating the food, rituals, and flavors that bring people together all season long," added Grigoriou.
The brand is giving national TV exposure to newer SKUs while keeping Real Mayonnaise inside the same creative system.
Each flavor gets attached to a specific dish, which makes it easier to picture at the table.
Unilever's Brent Lukowski said in 2025 that Chipotle Mayo was the top performer among Hellmann's flavored mayo launches.
Hellmann's football partnerships include the Big Ten Conference, five college programs, and five NFL teams.
The roster gives the campaign a sponsorship footprint it can reuse every weekend.
Unilever Chases a $210 Million Flavored Mayo Market
Circana data provided by Unilever put the U.S. flavored mayonnaise market at $210 million in 2024.
Kantar research cited by Unilever also found more than 35% of nonusers were willing to buy and try flavored mayo.
And Hellmann's is chasing this interest with national media, football partnerships, and live sampling.
Football puts all three in the same weekend, which is the fastest way to reach people who have never tried flavored mayo.
The numbers point to a product strategy that adds usage occasions for the whole range.
- Attach new variants to familiar foods. Trial gets easier when shoppers can already picture the dish it belongs with.
- Use extensions to grow the core. Households that add a second variety tend to buy more of the original.
- Put new products inside cultural rituals. Awareness travels faster when the product appears in something people already watch every week.
Hellmann's has until January to prove that its flavored range can hold shelf space it didn't have years ago.
Our Take: Can Football Sell the Whole Mayo Portfolio?
The sharpest thing in "Chicky Tenders" is that Chipotle and Spicy get assigned to one specific food.
We think that football can sell the full range, though only if Hellmann's keeps pairing each flavor with the right dish week after week.
Right now, the joke does the heavy lifting, and fans who laugh at the play call may still forget which flavor got named.
Hellmann's has five flavored mayos in the U.S. and an 18-week season of eating occasions to hand them to.
We'd argue that the experiential play in the form of the stadium tour has more weight here than the TV buy.
Fans getting to taste the flavors while the football setting is right in front of them is more memorable.
If fans start asking for Chipotle by name at the food truck, there's a bigger likelihood they will look for it on grocery shelves.
Similarly, Classico linked its NFL Sunday Football Sauce to a weekly ritual, which makes for a simpler memory hook and a smaller commercial ceiling.
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