Iconic mayonnaise brand Hellmann’s has pulled off a bold guerrilla marketing campaign to coincide with Charli XCX’s UK BRAT tour. 

The activation, developed by creative agency Ogilvy UK, references the singer’s controversial tour poster and her viral TikTok response. 

Over the weekend, Hellmann’s surprised fans queuing at Birmingham’s bp pulse LIVE arena, one of Charli xcx’s tour stops, with free ‘club classic’ sandwiches.

The sandwich, named after a track from the pop star’s Grammy-nominated BRAT album, was served in branded plastic bags as a nod to the infamous bag featured in her banned tour ad. 

The ad sparked controversy earlier this year but was humorously reimagined by the singer as a sandwich bag in a TikTok post that has since gathered more than 9.6 million views. 

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The campaign also featured a digital out-of-home (DOOH) takeover at the arena, with tongue-in-cheek messaging such as “sandwich and it’s the same but now it has Hellmann’s so it’s not”. Selected influencers were given the coveted sandwich bags and shared their reactions on social media. 

The sandwiches were crafted by Sandwich Society, a local Birmingham business partnered with Hellmann’s for the campaign. Charli was later spotted posting about one of the branded bags on her Instagram. 

Alison Steven and Liam Bushby, global creative directors at Ogilvy UK, said, “BRAT has become a marketing playbook for popstars, brands – and even politicians. But trends can quickly become oversaturated. When we saw Charli xcx’s witty TikTok post reimagining her tour poster as a sandwich bag, we saw a natural opportunity for Hellmann’s to join the conversation. After all, you can’t have a sandwich without Hellmann’s.”

Martin Bareau, brand director at Hellmann’s, added, “We’re proud that after 119 years, Hellmann’s can still surprise audiences with stunts like this.”