The Time Miracle Whip Appeared In A Lady Gaga Music Video
Sitting among the ranks of cilantro, olives, licorice, Hawaiian pizza, and banana-flavored candy, Miracle Whip is yet another polarizing food people either can't get enough of or can't stand the sight of. Often going head to head with its older, established cousin, mayonnaise, Miracle Whip has divided American consumers for what seems like forever. Originally marketed as a more affordable, "healthier" alternative to mayo, Miracle Whip possesses a subtly sweeter taste than mayonnaise due to the presence of sugar in the recipe, according to Healthline.
Whether you love or loathe Miracle Whip, it's pretty impossible to deny that the iconic spread has become one of the most recognizable brands in history. In fact, the condiment made a pretty special appearance in a music video for a 2009 song performed by two of the most successful musicians of all time. Thanks to a time-honored product placement marketing strategy, the newly revived blue and red Miracle Whip logo and packaging flashed across countless screens in the late 2000s.
Miracle Whip played a role in the 'Telephone' music video
A squeeze bottle of Miracle Whip had a cameo in the music video for "Telephone" — the 2009 chart-topping dance-pop hit performed by Lady Gaga and Beyoncé. The beginning of the 9-minute, 30-second video is set in a women's prison. Gaga plays an inmate who's incarcerated for an undisclosed crime. Her evident lover, portrayed by Beyoncé, eventually bails her out, and the two travel to a rural diner upon leaving the jailhouse. Starting around the 6:18 mark, Gaga's recently freed character poses as a cook in the back kitchen, where she prepares tomato, lettuce, and Miracle Whip sandwiches on classic white Wonder Bread before poisoning the patrons' meals, a recipe for mass homicide.
As it turns out, the Kraft product forked over an undisclosed payment for its small yet powerful role in the video. In fact, Tony Carter, Gaga's manager, shared with AdAge that a number of other brands, including Wonder Bread, Diet Coke, Polaroid, Virgin Mobile, Plenty of Fish, and Hewlett-Packard were "unpaid extensions of Gaga's marketing partnerships" since they already had contracts with the artist. In a March 2010 NPR segment, it was revealed that Miracle Whip agreed to be present in the video in hopes to foster a "snappier" image with younger consumers.