Nutella made headlines when a jar of its hazelnut spread appeared floating inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II mission, marking one of the farthest distances humans have ever travelled from Earth. The moment was captured on NASA’s livestream, delighting fans worldwide.
Noah Szporn, Senior Vice President of Spreads at Ferrero North America, described the overwhelming response: “When the clip started circulating, our phones lit up. Fans were emailing us, sliding into our DMs, and tagging us everywhere. It was impossible not to feel the joy of it.”
Brandspur Brand News reports that Nutella seized the opportunity without a paid product placement. The brand reposted the livestream across X, TikTok, and Instagram with the caption “Nutella is out of this world,” launching a space-themed giveaway that invited followers to share “the one thing you’d bring into the cosmos” for a chance to have their name written in the stars—or on a custom Nutella jar. Social media profiles were updated with a jar of Nutella in front of the moon and the tagline “Spreading smiles all the way to space.”
According to Sprout Social data shared with AdAge, these moves generated a 910 percent increase in brand mentions between April 6 and April 7, compared to the previous two days. Szporn confirmed that Nutella plans to continue leveraging the viral moment across social platforms and beyond, calling it “genuinely a great story.”
The event highlights how a spontaneous, culturally resonant moment—combined with agile social media strategy—can significantly amplify brand visibility and engagement.
