Hellmann's gives NFL quarterback Will Levis lifetime mayo contract
Player famous for putting mayonnaise in coffee gets all he'll ever need from Unilever.
Tfoso
Will Levis may have fallen short of projections that had him going as high as the No. 4 in the NFL Draft, but the quarterback selected 33rd overall in April by the Tennessee Titans has just won a whole bunch of mayonnaise.
Unilever today announced the signing of Levis, who is famous for putting mayonnaise in his coffee, to a contract worth a lifetime supply of Hellmann’s. The deal was announced in a two-minute mock press conference video from Edelman.
“It’s not every day that someone offers to compensate you in mayonnaise,” Levis, the former University of Kentucky star, says during the presser in front of many big Hellmann’s bottles. “I’d like to thank my mom, who introduced me to mayonnaise and started my love for the beautiful condiment that it is, as well as my high school lunch lady, Miss Lisa, who knew that extra mayonnaise meant extra mayonnaise.”
Levis puts mayo into his coffee and atop a cupcake during the press conference and notes that while it’s uncertain whether his agent will get a cut, that he is a big fan of Hellmann’s garlic aioli flavor.
Levis, who is currently the third quarterback on the Titans' depth chart, was well known before the draft for viral TikTok videos of him putting mayo in coffee (and eating bananas with the skin on).
Hellmann’s marketers hope to ride a viral wave that so far has generated 10.5 million views on the short-form video app. The brand will put paid support behind its own video as well as feature it in the brand’s social accounts, said Chris Symmes, director of dressings for Unilever North America.
“We decided obviously given his talent, his celebrity and his love for the condiment and Hellmann’s that this would be a fantastic partnership,” Symmes said, adding that the social buzz is “an opportunity for Hellmann’s to reach newer and younger consumers.”
Hellmann’s already shows up in about half of U.S. households, so the goal is more about driving more use, not necessarily awareness, Symmes said. That doesn’t mean seriously trying to get people to put Hellmann’s in coffee, he said, “but we do hope to inspire people to think of using mayonnaise as more than just a condiment.”
That’s also been a highlight of Hellmann’s “Make Taste, Not Waste” campaign in Super Bowl advertising over the past three years. Levis, being in the NFL, might seem a natural fit for year four of that effort, but Symmes said the play has yet to be called.
“We’re always assessing our communication strategy and roadmap, so it’s definitely worth consideration,” Symmes said. “But nothing has been finalized just yet."
