Heinz apologizes for launching pasta sauces '150 years too late'

Heinz is introducing a range of tomato-based pasta sauces this month in the U.K.—and it's admitting, very publicly, it's late to the game. In a campaign that debuted with a full-page spread in The Guardian, supported with a billboard in London's Leicester Square, the brand admits "this is ridiculous" and says it's "150 years late" (150 being the number of years Heinz has been in the U.K. market). The copy explains that it has created “probably the best pasta sauce you’ve ever tasted,” promising consumers that it was worth the wait, “because nothing so ridiculously good, has come so ridiculously late”. Kraft Heinz worked with Wunderman Thompson Spain on the campaign; it's the result of a partnership that has seen the agency involved in the conceptualization of the product range from the very beginning, from the packaging design to defining the entire launch strategy. The range of seven pasta sauces, which includes tomato bolognese, tomato and chili, and tomato and lentil ragu variants, is launching in the U.K. only, and will also be supported by a TV commercial to come in March, as well as further outdoor ads and digital videos. "The launch of the new Heinz Pasta Sauces is an important step in our strategy to expand the brand into new categories," said Caio Fontenele, new ventures director at Kraft-Heinz, in a statement. "Despite our extensive agriculture heritage and tomato expertise, this is the first Heinz pasta sauce launched in the UK —a market where Heinz is annually ranked amongst the most loved food brands. It was natural to have launched a pasta sauce, but we didn’t. Yes, we are ridiculously late. The Wunderman Thompson collaboration and fresh eyes on our brand resulted in a powerful and simple campaign, that points up the iconicity of Heinz in a rejuvenated way without trying too hard. And the result is ridiculously good.” “Consumers love it when a brand like Heinz has the ability to laugh at itself," added Paco Badia, executive creative director at Wunderman Thompson Spain. "Before now, the brand had never released a range of pasta sauces in the U.K., despite the fact that spaghetti Bolognese is one of the most popular dishes in the world and the third most-consumed dish in the U.K. It was the perfect excuse for us to play up the brand’s tomato credentials with the launch, including how they produce their own tomato seeds, in the most Heinz-way possible, with a subtle and intelligent sense of humor.”

Heinz apologizes for launching pasta sauces '150 years too late'

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