Eugene The Egg

Eugene The Egg, or the “world-famous egg” as it came to be known, lit up social media in early 2019. A picture of a single brown egg was posted to Instagram with instructions to “like this picture.” The goal was to make the picture of the egg the most liked photo on Instagram, breaking the record for most likes by surpassing Kylie Jenner’s post revealing her new baby to the world. Believe it or not, the egg did it and is now Instagram’s most-liked image. However, the egg’s page began to make more posts of the egg, with different designs and styles. Leading up to Super Bowl LIII, the egg was pictured with some cracks and a caption saying there would be a big reveal during one of the big game’s commercial slots. When the big reveal came, the egg cracked, revealing the struggles social media stardom can bring. The egg cracking also served as a PSA for those struggling with mental health issues to come forward and provided numbers and resources to Mental Health America and The & Partnership. Truly an “eggcelent” campaign.

This campaign would fall most prominently under both the earned and shared media pieces of the PESO model. This egg campaign had third-party endorsement and advertising with Hulu, Mental Health America and The & Foundation. All three worked together in order to get this PSA out there and make the big reveal of what would happen if Eugene cracked. This campaign also falls into shared media as it all originated and took place on Instagram. The egg’s Instagram account started the whole Eugene The Egg trend and made people want to follow him and see what would happen in their ad during the Super Bowl. Not to mention the fact that people will do anything to knock a Kardashian or Jenner down a peg or two, so this campaign was a major success.

The relationship between Hulu, Mental Health America and The & Partnership sort of throws a wrench into the PESO model because with all three partnering together, it is hard to determine what type of media is being used. Did each organization pay to appear in the ad? Was there third-party endorsement? Was it shared among the three organizations, and did each create its own content? There are several components of the PESO model that sort of cross over each other and intertwine, so it is difficult to pinpoint what exact type of media is being used in this ad.

Overall, the Eugene The Egg campaign was a creative and fun way to advocate for a major issue such as mental health and encourage people to seek help. It showed that we are all delicate like the shell of an egg and that we can all crack under pressure. Eugene encourages us to get help, and that mental health is no yolk.