Hellmann’s Takes Harry and Sally Back to Katz’s Deli for Super Bowl Ad

Hellmann’s wanted to do something bigger and bolder to celebrate its fifth consecutive year running a Super Bowl ad.

So, the mayonnaise brand is tapping into the nostalgia around the 1989 film When Harry Met Sally.

Hellmann’s 30-second Super Bowl ad recreates the iconic diner scene at New York’s Katz’s Deli from When Harry Met Sally, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal reprise their roles as Harry and Sally. The ad was created by WPP-owned VML.

The ad zeroes in on mayonnaise as a key ingredient for game-day dishes, Jessica Grigoriou, svp of condiment marketing for Unilever North America, told ADWEEK.

“It’s such a great moment for us to be part of football culture, and we wanted to take that opportunity to highlight how our Hellmann’s mayonnaise brings out the best in your game-day dishes while doing so in just an amazing, entertaining way,” Grigoriou said.

In the ad, Ryan is shown eating her sandwich when she realizes that something is missing. Crystal asks her, “What, no good?” She then adds Hellmann’s mayo and begins making noises, creating a commotion. The camera then pans to actress Sydney Sweeney who says, “I’ll have what she’s having” to a waitress.

“This scene resonates with everybody—and we were able to do so in a way that stayed very authentic to what the original scene is about, but put Hellmann’s at the center of that,” Grigoriou said.

Sweeney starred in 2023’s Anyone But You—the equivalent of When Harry Met Sally that was popular with Gen Z and millennials. In the original scene, an older woman says, “I’ll have what she’s having.” Hellmann’s wanted to reverse this by having a younger person deliver the line.

“We knew that she would also just help us connect to that generation that has seen this or heard of the film and not seen it,” said Grigoriou.