Tomato products brand Hunt’s is boosting its social media presence this week with Patrick Mahomes, the ketchup-loving NFL star, in the hopes he can convince others to act like him and put ketchup on pretty much any food.
Hunt’s snagged Patrick Mahomes as a brand ambassador in December, beating out larger rival Heinz for the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback's attention after the news surfaced that the NFL star is a major ketchup fan. Now, as football season gets underway, Hunt’s is stepping up its social media messaging with two new ads highlighting Mahomes.
The ads promote Hunt’s Best Ever ketchup, a name some longtime fans of the brand have taken issue with since the condiment's April debut, saying they miss the old version.
“I used to eat ketchup sandwiches when I was a little kid, like three or four years old, just ketchup and bread,” Mahomes said in April in a phone call from Nashville, where he was attending the NFL draft and shooting spots with Hunt’s. “I‘ve loved ketchup my whole entire life, and it’s something that has kind of been a part of me, and now it’s part of my brand and who I am.”
One of the ads for Hunt’s plays off Mahomes’ real-life usage of ketchup.
“I’ve gotten ketchup for birthday presents, I’ve gotten ketchup for all types of different things, and no matter where I am, I always have the waiter or waitress give me some ketchup,” he said in April.
In the “Best Ever Sommelier” spots (there are 15-second and 30-second versions), Mahomes is served a fancy burger and fries and then gets a bottle of the ketchup, much like someone else would get a bottle of wine, even sniffing the red stuff before having it squirted onto his burger.