Hellman's Superbowl Ad to Spread Message About Food Waste

Date: January 26, 2021

Source: Hellmann's

Hellman's joins several other brands in becoming first time advertisers in the Super Bowl. Hellman's has enlisted Amy Schumer to help deliver a message about eliminating food waste, which has been an area of focus for the company since CEO Alan Jope directed the brands under Unilever to find a purpose outside the one stated on the product.

A body of research suggests that as much as 40 percent of all food produced in the U.S. each year is wasted. For perspective, imagine a farm three-quarters the size of California that requires the amount of water used in Idaho and Texas combined. But rather than eating the food produced on this farm, we send it to a landfill. This, according to Dana Gunders, executive director of the nonprofit ReFED.

The 30 second ad will cost Hellman's about $5.5 million, which represents a significant portion of its marketing budget. However, the message of reducing food waste is especially important during the Superbowl, as giant bags of chips tend to go unfinished when the non-football fan members of the house lose interest in the game. Waste management firms in Kansas City and Tampa might also want to prepare for an influx of glass bottle waste, depending on the outcome of the game.


PRESS RELEASE
1/26/2021

Hellmann's Debuts First Big Game Ad To Help Americans Make Taste, Not Waste

  • The new ad, which premieres on Sunday, February 7th, features Amy Schumer and launches the brand's commitment to reducing food waste

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., Jan. 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Did you know that 40% of all food in the U.S. goes to waste and 43% of that waste actually happens in our homes1? It's a shocking reality. This is why Hellmann's is committed to inspiring more than 100 million people around the world to waste less food each year. For the first phase of the effort, Hellmann's has teamed up with celebrated comedian, actress, and author, Amy Schumer, to debut its first big game advertising spot to raise awareness around the issue of food waste. Together, Amy and Hellmann's will encourage Americans to get creative in the kitchen and "make taste, not waste" with ingredients that might otherwise end up in the trash.

Experience the interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8846151-hellmanns-amy-schumer-big-game-ad/

And while Hellmann's wants to make Americans aware of the reality of food waste, the brand will also provide easy tips people can immediately begin to use in their own kitchens to help limit food waste at home.

"It was startling to learn how much food gets thrown out in our homes, especially when you consider how many people are struggling to put food on their tables," said Amy Schumer. "I'm proud to partner with Hellmann's to bring awareness to this issue and help provide people with tangible ways to make easy changes at home. Simple steps like embracing imperfect foods and organizing your fridge or pantry can start to help reduce waste and inspire creativity in the kitchen."

Directed by award-winning director, screenwriter and producer, Peter Farrelly, the :30 commercial, will air during the third commercial break in the second quarter of the big game. A teaser of the spot can be enjoyed here and a second teaser will start airing on February 1st.

"We're excited to partner with both Amy Schumer and Peter Farrelly to bring attention to such an important issue that we can help change," said Ben Crook, Senior Marketing Director for Hellmann's North America. "We learned that the reason people tend to waste so much food at home is because they end up with disparate ingredients, like half a chicken breast, an avocado, a lone onion, and aren't inspired or sure how to use them. As a versatile pantry staple that can be used to create dips, sandwiches, pasta bakes, and even chocolate cake, Hellmann's can be the magic to help people get more creative in the kitchen."

This effort is part of a larger commitment to help achieve the UN's Sustainable Development Goal of reducing food waste by 50% by 2030. As a next step in the mission, Hellmann's, in partnership with Harvard Law School's Food Law and Policy Clinic, will drive forward legislative policy to push for the Federal standardization and clarity of food date labels. Each year, consumers waste $29B because of confusion over the meaning of date labels2.

Hellmann's will also drive this work with a $100,000 commitment to ReFED, a national nonprofit that works to reduce U.S. food waste by providing the food system with data and solutions to prevent, rescue, and recycle food at risk of going to waste.

In 2020, as an initial step towards this larger vision, the brand started the Hellmann's Food Relief Fund, which has already saved 1.2 million pounds of food from farms that would have otherwise gone to waste and redistributed this food to communities in need.

The Hellmann's initiative, "Make Taste, Not Waste", is part of Unilever's "Future Foods" ambition, which launched globally in 2020 with two key objectives: to help people transition towards healthier diets and to help reduce the environmental impact of the global food chain. One of the key "Future Foods" commitments is to halve food waste in Unilever's direct global operations from factory to shelf by 2025.

Visit www.Hellmanns.com to learn more.

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1 ReFed, A Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste by 20 Percent, 2016

2 Center for Health and Law and Policy Innovation, Date Labels: The Case for Federal Legislation, June 2019

About Unilever North America
Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care, and Foods & Refreshment products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 2.5 billion consumers a day. In the United States and Canada, the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Ben & Jerry's, Breyers, Degree, Dollar Shave Club, Dove, Hellmann's, Klondike, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, Love Beauty and Planet, Magnum, Nexxus, Noxzema, Pond's, Popsicle, Pure Leaf, Q-tips, Seventh Generation, Simple, Sir Kensington's, St. Ives, Suave, Talenti Gelato & Sorbetto, TAZO, TIGI, TRESemmé and Vaseline. All of the preceding brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies.

Unilever's Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) underpins the company's strategy and commits to:

  • Helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being by 2020.

  • Halving the environmental impact of our products by 2030.

  • Enhancing the livelihoods of millions of people by 2020.

The USLP creates value by driving growth and trust, eliminating costs and reducing risks. The company's sustainable living brands delivered 78% of total growth and 75% of turnover in 2019.

Since 2010 we have been taking action through the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan to help more than a billion people improve their health and well-being, halve our environmental footprint and enhance the livelihoods of millions of people as we grow our business. We have already made significant progress and continue to expand our ambition - most recently committing to ensure 100% of our plastic packaging is fully reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. While there is still more to do, we are proud to have been recognized in 2018 as sector leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and as the top ranked company in the GlobeScan/SustainAbility Global Corporate Sustainability Leaders survey, for the eighth-consecutive year.

For more information on Unilever U.S. and its brands visit: www.unileverusa.com
For more information on Unilever Canada and its brands visit: www.unilever.ca
For more information on the USLP: www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/

Media contacts:
Wendy Tursi
Wendy.Tursi@bcw-global.com

Kerry Langstine
Kerry.Langstine@bcw-global.com

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