Heinz-Absolut collab revives classic ad style for new pasta sauce

Absolut Vodka’s print ads of the 1980s and 90s were some of the most distinct and effective of their time. Now they’re getting a new interpretation to support a collaboration between the Swedish vodka brand and Kraft Heinz for a tomato vodka pasta sauce launching this week in the U.K. The campaign from Wunderman Thompson Spain pays homage to the iconic Absolut ads, featuring their straightforward design and slogans, only with a Heinz twist. The taglines take off on the Absolut style, tweaking it to read “Absolutely Heinz. Ridiculously Good.” Each of the ads also incorporates Absolut’s distinct bottle design. In one ad, the Heinz bottle casts a shadow resembling the Absolut bottle. Others show the Heinz bottle inside an Absolut bottle, the Absolut bottle cut into background scenery or its shape created by swirled pasta. The campaign went live today with out-of-home ads across London. A social media campaign will follow later this week with posts on Heinz and Absolut’s channels featuring the hashtag, #AbsolutelyHeinz. “This a very exciting launch for us, as we’ve had the opportunity to pay homage to one of the most recognizable campaigns of all time—the Absolut adverts from the early 1980s. In fact, the bestselling Absolut Book, which delves into the thinking and strategy behind the campaign, has provided creative inspiration throughout my professional career, long before we started working on this project,” Paco Badia, executive creative director for Wunderman Thompson Spain, stated in a press release. For Kraft Heinz, the collaboration follows the introduction of pasta sauces to the U.K. market a year ago and continues a strategy to enter new categories through “unexpected collaborations with cutting-edge innovators and brands to redefine best-in-class and lead the future of food,” the company stated. The brand worked with Wunderman Thomson Spain last year on a campaign that apologized to the British public and founder Henry Heinz for not having created a pasta sauce until then. “While it may have taken over 150 years of tomato expertise to launch our first Heinz pasta sauce, we’re determined to continue innovating and delighting consumers at the speed of social media trends,” Caio Fontenele, director of Heinz New Ventures, said in a statement. Absolut, owned by Pernod Ricard, was voted into the Marketing Hall of Fame in 1995.

Heinz-Absolut collab revives classic ad style for new pasta sauce

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