Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal’s recent ad for Hellmann’s mayonnaise sparked controversy among brand enthusiasts. The campaign featured the iconic “When Harry Met Sally” moment, depicting Meg Ryan as Sally Albright trying to convince Harry Burns that women can convincingly fake orgasms. Instead of just promoting Hellmann’s, however, the ad cleverly plays on the viral-fame-driven marketing tactics seen in other campaigns—like Dolly Parton rewriting a hit song for Squarespace or Popcorners equating their product with meth from Breaking Bad.
The ad, created by Edelman, takes a well-known fake orgasm scene and adds Hellmann’s mayo to it. While Ryan does indeed end up dousing her sandwich with mayo, the humor is subtle—after all, you can’t fake mayo. Meanwhile, director Rob Reiner’s mother plays the role of Sally’s friend, delivering the iconic “I’ll have what she’s having” line.
While some see this as an harmless lighthearted ad (and even a few coworkers found it cute), others view it as a reminder of how brands are exploiting nostalgia to market their products. The campaign also ties into Katz’s sandwich packages, which now include Hellmann’s mayo in “What She’s Having” sandwiches.
The crux is whether creative efforts should truly be left to AI or if human creativity—however flawed—is better served by big-name actors like Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. This ad seems to lean toward the latter, even as it perpetuates a trend of using pop culture for marketing. After all, nostalgia is catchy—and Hellmann’s mayonnaise just had one more promotion to make it stick in your memory.
Source: https://www.eater.com/24354679/when-harry-met-sally-superbowl-commercial-hellmanns-mayonnaise