Hellmann’s set out to prove that big cultural relevance can be built through deeply local execution. In a category crowded with national burger brands and global QSR marketing, the brand aimed to reclaim cultural relevance at street level by celebrating neighborhood burger joints that already held emotional equity within their communities.
The objective of Mom & Popular was to drive real-world consideration and purchase by embedding Hellmann’s into the local food culture of three Canadian cities -Toronto, Montreal, and Calgary - rather than relying on mass national messaging.
The campaign sought to increase brand relevance among urban food lovers by aligning with trusted, local burger institutions, drive foot traffic and sales within a defined geographic radius of featured restaurants and demonstrate that hyper-local creativity could deliver outsized cultural and commercial impact.
By focusing on city-specific insights, creators, media, and execution, Hellmann’s aimed to make mayonnaise culturally relevant where it matters most: in the neighborhoods where Canadians actually eat burgers.
Mom & Popular was built entirely around local relevance. Instead of promoting Hellmann’s as a generic burger topping, the brand partnered with iconic, independently owned burger restaurants that were already beloved within their neighborhoods.
Three cities (Toronto, Montreal, and Calgary) were selected based on strong local food cultures and high density of independent burger spots:
In each market, Hellmann’s collaborated with a single, culturally iconic burger joint that had strong neighborhood credibility. These restaurants were not treated as media placements but as creative partners - co-creating limited-time menu items featuring Hellmann’s as a core ingredient.
To activate locally, the campaign used a tightly targeted digital ecosystem:
Every element of the campaign - from casting to copy - was customized by city. Visuals, creator tone, and food culture references differed across Toronto, Montreal, and Calgary, ensuring the work felt locally authored rather than centrally produced.
By keeping the radius tight and the storytelling authentic, Hellmann’s didn’t just advertise to these cities, it showed up as part of their neighborhoods.
By anchoring the campaign in local culture rather than national promotion, Mom & Popular delivered measurable impact across the three activated cities.
Together, these results show how tightly focused local marketing can deliver outsized cultural relevance, neighborhood-level action, and sustained business impact.
