Dive Brief:
- Unilever is being held up to ridicule on TV, social media, and in the press for its actions during its public spat with the makers of plant-based Just Mayo over just what constitutes mayonnaise.
- The maker of Hellmann's mayonnaise was caught tweaking its website to reflect that many of its own products were actually not mayonnaise under the definition invoked by the company in a lawsuit filed last week.
- Social media has been rife with comments mocking Unilever. Comedian David Letterman joined in over the weekend with a sketch about the complicated nature of mayonnaise law.
Dive Insight:
It's getting pretty clear that the folks at Unilever didn't really think this one through. They filed a lawsuit that a) has led to an extraordinary amount of publicity for rival Just Mayo, while b) neglecting to check that its own products met the legal standard they want a court to decide are sacrosanct.
The end result - in addition to unending mockery - was predictable. Hampton Creek says sales of Just Mayo have soared since the lawsuit was filed.