Dale Earnhardt Jr. went to the town of Toast, North Carolina on Thursday morning and went door-to-door to confiscate the residents’ mayonnaise.
He did so alongside his friends at the Commission of Condiment Use but only after the town, which is about a half hour north of Winston-Salem, warned residents that the town would soon ban the condiment from within Toast.
No spreading of mayo
No possession of mayo
No thinking about mayo
There were billboards and everything.
“We came to the town of Toast because mayonnaise belongs on the outside of Toast,” Earnhardt told Sportsnaut outside of a Food Lion in Mount Airy, North Carolina, where he took all the confiscated condiment.
If this sounds completely ridiculous and absurd, it’s because it is, and was a cutesy activation between Earnhardt and longtime sponsor Unilever and its Hellmann’s brand. Earnhardt came to Mount Airy to shoot a commercial but also serve grilled cheese lunches to the townsfolk after taking their condiments earlier in the day.
They were, naturally, topped with mayonnaise on the outside instead of butter because mayo belongs on the outside of toast … and Toast.
“We went door-to-door, so everyone knew we were playing a joke, but they didn’t know who was going to show up at the door and it was me,” Earnhardt said. “We had this commission that I was part of and had some great casting for that.
“Once it’s all put together, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
For an hour or so, Earnhardt delivered lunches and filmed content, all part of a partnership with Unilever he has activated for approaching two decades.
“They have helped keep JR Motorsports in the right direction for a long time,” Earnhardt said. “I race for them once a year and they partner with Justin and our other drivers to promote all the Unilever bands. We get to enjoy all those products too — Breyers Ice Cream, Klondike Bar but Hellmann’s has always been at the lead.
“They’ve been great to us.”
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.