Trib Live by the Associated Press
August 25, 2018
ORLANDO, Fla. — Mayo, Florida is holding the mayo, at least for a few days.
The mayor of this tiny town of less than 1,500 residents, located where Florida’s Panhandle morphs into a peninsula, is announcing Saturday that the city is switching its name to “Miracle Whip.” But it’s a joke.
The name change started as a secret, tongue-in-cheek marketing proposal for the Kraft Heinz-owned mayonnaise-alternative. Videographers for Miracle Whip on Saturday wanted to capture the shock of residents when they hear that the name of their town is being changed to a corporate brand. Representatives of the condiment planned to spend the next few days filming their jocular efforts to get residents to remove mayonnaise from their homes.
The town’s elected officials say they will let residents in on the joke after a few days, but not before street signs and the name on the water tower have been switched out. The town located halfway between Tallahassee and Gainesville is getting between $15,000 and $25,000 for the name change, and the money will be used for city beautification measures.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Mayo’s mayor ran with the concept, insisting it would be a good idea to make the name change permanent.
“We aren’t going to be boring Mayo anymore. We are going to be Miracle Whip!” Ann Murphy said. “I definitely think this will put us on the map.”
Town clerk Linda Cone confirmed the name change is a prank and conceded that in a town so small it probably won’t take long for residents to figure it out. “Everybody knows everybody. It’s been kind of difficult to keep everything under wraps,” Cone said.
