Heinz Ketchup aired a commercial that was 0.57 seconds long during Sunday’s Nascar race

The lightning-fast spot, from Rethink, encouraged viewers to slow down—and score a hidden DoorDash code

Published On
Mar 07, 2023
A man in a white shirt opening a Heinz Ketchup bottle next to a cheeseburger on a red and white wrapper

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Heinz Ketchup is all about slowing things down. So, on Sunday, the brand showed up on a broadcast that’s all about speed—a Nascar race—with a blink-and-you’ll-miss it commercial that viewers had to slow down to appreciate.

Working with agency Rethink, Heinz created a 0.57-second spot (a reference to the number 57 on its bottles) and aired it during the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube. The spot whizzed by, and some viewers might have assumed it was a glitch. But those curious enough to pause and rewind might have caught a frame or two—including a hidden code, HEINZSLOW, for $5 off a DoorDash order.

Here’s how the spot looked during the broadcast:

 

Consumers could also visit heinzenjoyedslow.com to see the spot at four different speeds. Targeted Instagram and TikTok videos pointed users to the microsite. The campaign also features a custom native video unit that will be served to a targeted audience and gives viewers the same ability to watch the video at a variety of speeds, a Heinz rep told Ad Age.

Here is a video of the spot on its own:

 

As you might expect, the media buy for broadcast was tricky here. In the end, the brand had to pay for a full 15-second spot just to air the 0.57-second one. Heinz worked with Starcom’s Publicis 57 on U.S. media, and Zeno on public relations.

“If any brand can appreciate the value of slow, it’s Heinz,” said Jacqueline Chao, senior brand manager on Heinz. “With our new spot, we’re excited to reward those who appreciate slowing things down—including our famously slow-pouring ketchup.” 

“Of course it’s important to find new ways to capture people’s attention in broadcast, but the role of the brand and why you’re doing it matters just as much,” said Mike Dubrick, chief creative officer at Rethink Toronto. “Heinz has been famously slow for over 100 years. So who better to pull something like this off? Figuring out how to get a 0.57-second spot on air was the challenge. So it’s been great working with our media partners to break new ground in broadcast and bring this to life.” 

Credits

Date
Mar 07, 2023
Client :
Kraft Heinz
Client :
Heinz Ketchup
Agency :
Rethink
CCO :
Aaron Starkman
CCO :
Mike Dubrick
CSO :
Sean McDonald
Creative Director :
Zachary Bautista
Associate Creative Director :
Geoff Baillie
Writer :
Geoff Baillie
Writer :
Phil Coulter
Writer :
Shawn Weidman
Art Director :
Zachary Bautista
Art Director :
Stefan D'Aversa
Strategist :
Julian Morgan
Strategist :
Emma Bayfield
Producer :
Tricia Lapidario
Post :
R & D Post
Post Supervisor :
Megan O'Connor
Post Supervisor :
Shannon Ing
Print Producer :
Kate Spencer
Studio :
Brad Kumar
Studio :
Justin Chan
Studio :
Kostas Loukopoulos
Group Business Lead :
Adam Ball
Group Account Director :
Jamie Sutherland
Account Director :
David Greisman
Account Supervisor :
Jamie Flatow
Account Manager :
Rachel Cloth
Director/Photographer :
Shanghoon
Cinematographer :
Shanghoon
Production Company :
Free Society
Executive Producer :
Tony DiMarco
Head of Production / Producer :
Dan Arki
Editor :
Ralph Floro
Online/VFX/Motion Graphics :
Frame Distillery VFX
Online/VFX/Motion Graphics :
Rob Del Ciancio
Color :
Adam Kemp
Audio :
Vapor Music
PR :
Zeno Group
Media :
Publicis 57

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Project Type