HELLMANN’S CHRISTMAS ISLAND

Brief:
Christmas is the happiest time of the year, but it’s also a time when the UK wastes the most food. 
This year, Hellmann’s wanted to bring food waste to the forefront and show Brits the positive impact 
they could have on their community.  

Idea:
During the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, a video game called Animal Crossing surged in popularity.
Unfortunately, the game had a problem: the island’s entire economy was built on food waste!  

In-game, players buy and sell turnips to make money. 
If these turnips are not sold swiftly, they spoil, lose their value and become practically useless.

To highlight the issue of food waste, we created Hellmann’s Island - a five-star island built within the game.
We then invited our audience to visit and drop off their spoiled turnips.
For each turnip dropped off, Hellmann’s would donate two meals to Fare Share, a non-profit  that rescues
surplus food to feed the hungry. 

To get the word out about the island, we partnered with Animal Crossing enthusiast Stephen Fry.
He provided a voice that would both cut through the holiday noise on social and a provide narration to a
wonderfully Christmassy film.

Results:
25K+ turnips donated to Hellmann’s Island.
50K meals donated via Fare share.
Guided tours of the island sold out within minutes.
62% of attendees told us that our initiative made them want to reduce food waste in their lives.
The campaign reached 18.1M people.

Awarded:
IMA - Most Creative Influencer Marketing Campaign - Gold
IMA - Best Food and Drink Campaign - Gold
IMA - Best Gaming Campaign - Gold
IMA - Best Cause-Led Campaign - Silver
Social Buzz Awards - Best Interactive Entertainment - Gold
Social Buzz Awards - Best Influencer Campaign - Shortlisted
Social Buzz Awards - Most Innovative Use of Social - Shortlisted
DMA - Best Sustainability Campaign - Gold
DMA - Retail & E-commerce - Shortlisted
DMA - Best B2C - Shortlisted

Coverage:
Nintendo Life / Go Nintendo / The Gamer / The Metro / The Independent / Marketing Week / The Grocer / Heart / iTech News

Role:
UK Creative Director

Copy - Tom Langdon