In a world full of processed and even synthetic food, many consumers are hungry for more natural choices. Mayo brand Hellmann’s is appealing to this yearning with a new guerilla effort called Hellmann’s Urban Garden Program, which will set up about 50 community vegetable gardens to reinforce the brand’s ‘natural’ positioning.

‘We’re working to shorten the distance between gardens and tables,’ explains Sharon MacLeod, director, spreads & dressings at Toronto-based Unilever Canada. ‘There’s no question that consumers are interested in eating ‘real’ food . . . we want to tie the brand back to the ideas of ‘simple’ and ‘natural’.’

Hellmann’s sent a DM ‘invitation,’ complete with packets of carrot seeds, to urbanites in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax in early April to drive them to apply for gardening space online at www.hellmans.ca from April 9 to May 9. ‘We’re going to create [the gardens] in parking areas,’ says MacLeod. ‘We’re looking to reach a mass urban audience with this.’

The idea originated at Ogilvy Toronto, and Unilever is also working on the initiative with Toronto-based agencies Segal Communications (groundwork), Dashboard (website), PhD (media) and Harbinger (PR).