The objective was to break through the clutter of earned brand round-ups for the holiday. Therefore, we authenticated an unlikely product partnership on Butterfinger and Hellmann’s social platforms through personalized brand engagement and organically produced video content.
Although not commonly associated with the other, Butterfinger and Hellmann’s Mayo’s friendship took shape on Twitter starting in December of 2021 and blossomed into an unlikely product that took many by surprise. Taking inspiration from unexpected product collaborations, Butterfinger and Hellmann's released a limited-edition Dessert Mayo featuring Butterfinger for April Fool’s Day.
In order to bring this activation to life, Golin pitched select firestarter PR outlets under embargo to “launch the news” and reveal the prank in addition to teasing the partnership on March 31st across all social channels to build momentum for this “real limited time product”. This strategically unique aspect of launching the campaign a day prior to the holiday allowed for both brands to cut through the clutter and invoke additional consumer conversation and engagement as individuals speculated on if the partnership was real or a joke.
To drive further speculation and conversation amongst consumers, Butterfinger and Hellmann’s each posted in-house video montages of team members actually trying the unlikely combination — literally eating mayonnaise on a Butterfinger as a proof of concept — claiming that it was a delicious treat that you may not expect (honestly it’s not bad). The witty brand banter in response to consumers contributed to the high level visibility for the activation, stoked the shock factor, and encouraged individuals to engage with the content, thereby increasing impressions and engagement.
On April 1st, both brands shared that although this “dessert mayo” was actually a prank for April Fool’s Day, there is a delicious recipe for a Butterfinger and Hellmann’s cake that allows you to enjoy both products together.
Although partnering with another brand comes with its own set of challenges and brand guardrails, working closely alongside both brand’s legal teams allowed for quick pivots and kept the activation moving, ultimately allowing it become the success it was.
Through our efforts on social, the April Fool’s organic social conversation garnered over 1 million impressions and 40K engagements, with 897K impressions and 7,709 engagements coming from just the original product launch post that went live on March 31st. This activation resonated with consumers as they bantered back and forth in the comments and proved to be so eye-catching that brands like Wonder Bread USA, Duke’s Mayo, Walgreens, and Aflac wanted to weigh in. One brave consumer even posted their own video of trying the combination and their reaction.
Our earned efforts garnered 31 media placements in top-tier outlets like USA Today, AdWeek, and Elite Daily and more than 670MM impressions.
