By now, you’ve probably seen those Hellmann’s (Best Foods, for those of us on the West Coast) mayonnaise commercials. You know, those 30-second spots that pose the question, “What does real food mean to you?” In addition to the TV ads, Hellmann’s has sponsored a show hosted by Dave Lieberman from The Food Network to travel around and shoot brief episodes where he asks people on the street what they think “real food” is (more on this later). If you haven’t seen the ad and you’d like to know what I’m talking about, you can watch it here.
I’m not going to go into what “real food” means to me, because anyone who reads this site should already have a pretty good idea of what I think it is. Also, Bonnie a.k.a. Dairy Queen over at The Ethicurean did a great job explaining what real food means to her. (Also, you can read her take on the Hellmann’s campaign over here.) Instead, I thought I’d point out just how UN-real Hellmann’s/Best Foods mayonnaise is, just in case the irony of this particular ad campaign has escaped you.
Let me begin by listing the ingredients of Hellmann’s “REAL” Mayonnaise*, as they would appear on an actual label:
INGREDIENTS: Soybean oil, water, whole eggs and egg yolks, vinegar, salt, sugar, lemon juice, natural flavors, calcium disodium EDTA (used to protect quality).
First, I’m baffled about why mayonnaise needs water. It’s an oil-based product, so the addition of water seems unwarranted. I’m sure it has to do with the processing methods, which is precisely I try to avoid processed food as much as I can. But I digress; my reason for listing the ingredients in Hellmann’s “REAL” Mayonnaise is so I can point out how great a misnomer “REAL” is for this product. I think the following ingredients prove my point.
–SOYBEAN OIL–
Soybean oil is one of the polyunsaturated fats. These fats are prone to oxidation (rancidity), which leads to the creation of free radicals, known for their role in aging and diseases including cancer and heart disease. Weston A. Price’s site says this about free radicals: “These compounds are extremely reactive chemically. They have been characterized as “marauders” in the body for they attack cell membranes and red blood cells and cause damage in DNA/RNA strands, thus triggering mutations in tissue, blood vessels and skin.” Basically, free radicals are like little hooligans crawling around in your system looking to make trouble. The biggest trigger for oxidation in polyunsaturated fats is heat, and while most of us don’t heat our mayonnaise, I don’t like to mess around with oil rancidity. The oil used in this product was probably warehoused for an extended period of time, so chances are it’s rancid from the start.
–EGGS–
The eggs used by Hellmann’s are undoubtedly factory-farmed. Chickens living under these conditions are subjected to painful debeaking practices and they’re pumped full of hormones to increase egg yield. They’re confined in battery cages much too small for the number of birds stuffed into each one, such as a sixteen-inch cage containing four chickens. As a result of being confined in this way, the birds suffer osteoporosis, severe feather loss, liver problems, and other serious health issues. FactoryFarming.com has more information on factory-farmed eggs, and for those of you who can handle it, here’s a photo gallery.
–NATURAL FLAVORS–
Did any of you read “Fast Food Nation“? If you did, then you know what “natural flavoring” is all about. Here’s a great explanation of what natural flavorings are. Basically, “natural” flavorings are still chemicals, and the term encompasses hundreds of different ingredients. There’s no way to know what’s in a product if it has this term on the label, and I’m willing to bet that Hellmann’s isn’t going to share this information with consumers.
–CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA–
EDTA, short for ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid, is a chelating agent synthesized from ethylenediamine, formaldehyde, water, and sodium cyanide. In addition to its use as a food preservative, it’s used in industrial cleaning for its ability to bind heavy metals. EDTA is also used in recycling processes to recover lead from used lead acid batteries, and the sodium salt of EDTA is used in chelation therapy for mercury and lead poisoning. Its chemical formula is (HO2CCH2)2NCH2CH2N(CH2CO2H)2. Does that sound like “real food” to you?
In order to sell you the idea that Hellmann’s Mayonnaise is in any way “real”, their thirty-second ad spot features a handful of wholesome-looking actors, such as the hip mom in a vintage-looking dress and sneakers playing in the park with her son, the fresh-faced redhead, the casual dude in his pad, and the artist-type in black tights and boots sitting cross-legged on the floor. I’m so fascinated by the tactics used in this ad that I have transcribed it for your reading enjoyment:
What if we all said ‘No’?
NO!
‘No’ to fake food.
‘No’ to over-processed food.
NO!
‘No’ to food that’s not fit for our kids.
And ‘Yes’ to Hellmann’s.
Say ‘yes’ to REAL.
‘Yes’ to naturally rich in Omega-3s.
Made with eggs, oil, and vinegar.
Hellmann’s REAL Mayonnaise.
I’m glad I figured it out.
All the taste in the world.
Hellmann’s - It’s time for REAL.
The idea that saying “no” to fake and over-processed food wouldn’t automatically exclude Hellmann’s Mayonnaise is laughable. Even the actors seem unconvinced. Compare them to the people asked by Dave Lieberman what they think real food is in the first episode of In Search of Real Food on Yahoo!:
When Dave asks people on the street what they think of as being “real food”, they say things like “homemade,” “seasonal,” “free-range-meat,” and “fresh vegetables.” One guy says that real food should go “from the farmer’s stand right to your plate,” which is preceded by shots of fresh cherries and oranges. Does Hellmann’s Mayonnaise really resemble ANY of these things? It’s kind of unbelievable that Hellmann’s can put their name on this campaign at all.
For future campaigns, I think Hellmann’s should stick to what they do best, which is to feature kids, families, and other scenarios that vaguely remind us of our long-lost childhoods, as if all of us sat around after school with our big brothers while happily spreading mayonnaise on an after-school sandwich. Or, they could just play this little piece of awesomeness over and over:
Why not? I think every Hellman’s/Best Foods ad from this point forward should always feature weird Latina fly-girls and guys in huge yellow Hammer-pants rapping in Spanish. Now THAT’S the way to advertise to Americans.
*Note: Hellmann’s makes other kinds of mayonnaise, like Canola Mayonnaise and Light Mayonnaise. The latter version is particularly disgusting; however I chose to stick with their “REAL” version for the post. If you’d like more information on the Light mayo, check out the link to The Ethicurean’s take on the Hellmann’s ad campaign.
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Activist Mommy 08.01.07 at 12:48 pm
I’m glad we don’t eat mayo. Real Food? They have to be kidding.