Insta-Famous Egg Cracks Under Pressure in Super Bowl Spot

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Unless you've been living under a rock for the past month, you'll be familiar with the egg which 'won' Instagram by beating the previous record-holder for likes.

Kylie Jenner's first baby photo garnered 18 million hearts; Eugene (as the egg is known) boasts a staggering 52.3 million at the time of this story. Oh, and 10 million followers.

But who was behind it? And what in tarnation did it mean? Well, Super Bowl Sunday saw two big reveals - the identity of the egg's creators, up to then a closely guarded secret, and its brand purpose. 

Taking advantage of the hype around the Super Bowl ad extravaganza (or should that be egg-stravaganza?), the egg 'starred' in a spot produced with streaming service Hulu. Followers of the account were teased in the run-up to the event with progressive images of the egg developing cracks, culminating in a photo showing it laced up like an American football and proclaiming 'All will be revealed this Sunday.'

In the 25-second ad, which aired on Hulu following the big game, the egg shares a story about how going viral has affected its mental health, as it gradually cracks and eventually collapses. “The pressure of social media is getting to me,” it says. “If you’re struggling, too, talk to someone.” 

The ad then directs viewers to the website for the nonprofit Mental Health America. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it turns out that the biggest social media star of modern times was cooked up by an adman - namely, 29-year-old Chris Godfrey, a creative at The & Partnership London and two of his mates, Alissa Khan-Whelan and C.J. Brown - who outed themselves to The New York Times this weekend.

According to Eugene's creators, mental health is the only the first of several causes that the egg will support. “It’s not really about me,” Godfrey said. “It’s just about the egg and sort of where we can take it and what we can do with it.” 

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