Hellmann's Back to School

Category Food & CPG

Brand Hellmann's · Unilever

Year 2026

Scope 15-Second AI Micro-Spot

The brief.

A 15-second, fully AI-produced Back to School micro-spot. Broadcast-ready, grounded in a real in-home morning, with Hellmann's as the hero of the moment.

Challenge

The spot had to bring the Hellmann's Back to School campaign to life inside a single, relatable morning: a parent packing a school lunch. It needed to feel like a true brand piece: joyful, warm, and emotionally engaging, with an instant hook, confident pacing inside a 15-second constraint, accurate and appetizing product representation, and a clean, satisfying product beat. No UGC gloss, no fantasy, and ethnic diversity front of mind.

Approach

We built the story around one universal moment: making a lunch worth looking forward to. A parent spreads Hellmann's on a fresh sandwich, adds a side of baby carrots with a chipotle-mayo dip, and closes the lunchbox, labels forward, product unmistakably the hero. Every frame was AI-directed for character and environmental consistency, natural camera movement, accurate lipsync, and sound design that supports the arc rather than overwhelming it.

The direction.

The everyday made appetizing. We kept the moment real: a warm kitchen, morning light, one honest gesture. The product carries the joy.

Story

A parent makes the sandwich, adds baby carrots with a Hellmann's chipotle-mayo dip, and clicks the lunchbox shut. A simple problem, a lunch a kid will actually love, solved in a direct, charming beat that lands the brand in the last frame.

Craft

Intentional camera angles, confident 15-second pacing, dialogue delivery with accurate lipsync, and musicalization plus sound design tuned to the visual arc. Motion enhances the storytelling; it never overwhelms it.

Product

Scale, color, texture and lighting kept accurate and appetizing throughout. Labels visible, lunchbox present, the mayo held as the hero, resolving on a clean, commercial-grade product moment.