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How many Steelers linemen would it take to carry two 35-feet-by-9-feet Heinz ketchup bottles out of Heinz Field? The home of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the University of Pittsburgh football teams has been called Heinz Field since it opened in 2001. Now, as Kraft Heinz tries to recover after a brutal few months, Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal reports it may drop the Heinz Field deal.
The report calls a renewal “highly unlikely” and says sources suggest Kraft Heinz might even walk away before its pact expires in 2021. Kraft Heinz, which has had offices in both Chicago and Pittsburgh since its 2015 merger, didn’t exactly confirm its plans, but clearly, it’s looking for ways to cut costs after weak results, massive write-downs, the appointment of a new CEO and the departure of its chief marketing officer. “Kraft Heinz and the Pittsburgh Steelers have enjoyed a long and beneficial relationship over the past 18 years. Both organizations are committed to the partnership for at least the next two seasons, and we look forward to ongoing discussions related to the future,” Kraft Heinz spokesman Michael Mullen said in a statement. So, you might say the company is weighing its options. As for those bottles, they weigh about 16,000 pounds combined, roughly as much as 53 300-pound NFL linemen, according to the stadium. (For more condiment news, keep reading below.)
Oprah’s latest
There is one deal Kraft Heinz is eager to promote: its ongoing relationship with Oprah Winfrey. On Wednesday, Kraft Heinz announced the addition of frozen skillets to the O, That’s Good! prepared food line that’s been around since 2017 and already features soups, sides and pizzas. The line sneaks veggies into traditional comfort foods. In the chicken alfredo skillet, for instance, some of the cream that’s usually in the dish was replaced with pureed cauliflower. New ads including a 15-second spot featuring Winfrey, will come from creative agency Reid Miller Creative Group.
School daze
On the heels of Amazon’s back-to-school campaign earlier this week, the Gap—long a destination for fall fashion for students, which was a fact highlighted in the recent season of Netflix’s ’80s hit Stranger Things—is out with its own push. The “It’s Our Denim Now” work is the retailer’s first from agency Johannes Leonardo. Like many other Gap campaigns, it uses nostalgia marketing by delving into the brand’s heritage, showcasing popular styles from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s with modern twists. This is also the first major campaign from new CMO Alegra O’Hare, who joined the San Francisco-based retailer from Adidas earlier this year. The work will run on Gap.com and across its social channels. Creativity has more on the campaign.