Mike’s Amazing may not be a brand a lot of people have heard of, especially outside of the New York area, but it’s one that hopes to gain a new audience as it releases its first ever brand campaign featuring actor Michael Rapaport.
The loquacious and opinionated Rapaport brings his best motor-mouthed self to the campaign, the first by Havas New York since it was signed as the Chefler Foods brand’s agency of record. In a pair of spots for Mike’s Amazing condiments, Rapaport espouses the goodness of the brand’s mustard and mayonnaise.
The first for the new platform, “When it’s on, it’s on,” finds Rapaport sounding off on Mike’s Amazing mustard. He is seen grilling hot dogs, telling a guest about how wrong it was when the first person decided to put ketchup on a hot dog, then saying that hot dogs should get the best mustard money can buy, and that’s Mike’s Amazing.
The second spot sees him talking to his mother, who remains silent as Rapaport tries to get her to admit that she, and many other people, like mayonnaise, and that Mike’s Amazing takes sandwiches to the next level.
“There’s just something funny about getting so worked up about small things, like what people put on their hot dog. And since that’s what I do anyways, it just made sense,” said Rapaport in a statement.
Founded in 2016, the Mike’s Amazing brand is popular throughout the Northeast and is well known among sports fans for being the official mayonnaise, mustard and vegetable oil of the Yankees, Mets, Rangers, Devils and Phillies, as well as the official mayo of the Red Sox.
“Celebrating our position in the Tri-State Area, we embraced the strong opinions people have when it comes to their food to deliver a message that is funny, real and maybe even a little edgy,” said Michael Leffler, founder and CEO of Mike’s Amazing/Chefler Foods LLC in a statement. “Pairing authenticity with a sense of humor reflects our corporate culture and it speaks directly to the millions of people who are passionate about condiments, inspiring them to select a Mike’s Amazing product when they have the choice.”
The brand’s spirit of competition and sense of pride in its products became the base and inspiration for the tone of Havas’ creative campaign.
“What resonated with us when we met with the Mike’s Amazing team was the brand’s passionate and opinionated ethos” said Dan Lucey, chief creative officer at Havas New York. “We knew the work needed to tap into the minds of the consumers and their opinions to embrace debates in culture and ultimately let Mike’s be a part of the larger conversation.”
Havas’ New York Village, including Havas New York, Havas CX and Havas Formula, will support the brand across creative, digital customer experience and PR.
“We are thrilled to partner with a team that appreciates the uniqueness of our brand in the marketplace and understands the significance of reflecting our corporate culture across all the messaging they create,” said Michael Kurland, chief financial officer of Chefler Foods. “We are looking forward to using Havas New York’s creative capabilities and experience to further increase brand awareness and build on our momentum.”