Heinz launches first global campaign, focused on irrational fan love for the brand

The work from Wieden+Kennedy New York highlights smuggled Beanz, Heinz tattoos and swiped mini bottles

Published On
Jun 01, 2023
Collage of Heinz video screenshots

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Beyoncé sang that she had hot sauce in her bag. But Heinz fans carry mini ketchup bottles.

Heinz has kicked off a new global campaign, marking the first time in its 150-year history where the brand is unified under one creative strategy. The campaign pays homage to the brand by celebrating the irrational love people have for Heinz. 

The fan stories featured in the creative—including Heinz ketchup tattoos, swiping hotel mini ketchup bottles and smuggling tins of Beanz through airport security—were sourced from social media, news articles and through word of mouth. 

 

“As we looked to unify the brand under one global brand platform, we dove into the world of our consumers and found they all shared one thing: the irrational lengths they go to for Heinz products,” Diana Frost, Kraft Heinz’s chief growth officer for North America, said in a statement. “As a brand obsessed with our consumers, we created ‘It has to be Heinz’ as our love song back to them. Our fans are our muses.” 

In addition to the anthem above, the campaign, developed with Wieden+Kennedy New York, includes five spots focusing on true and could-be-true stories around Heinz. One spot shows a woman taking mini ketchup bottles off a hotel room service cart, another shows a Heinz collector. A vignette shows a man bringing ketchup to a sushi tasting, and another judgingly closing their partner's fridge after seeing they don’t have Heinz ketchup. The spots are set to the song “It’s Love” by Chris Knox.

“The best part about it all is that we don’t have to make anything up,” said Jessica Ghersi, associate creative director at Wieden+Kennedy. “The stories are already out there. We just had to find them and let them shine.”

The new campaign will run on TV, online video, cinema, social and out-home-home, and debut in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Germany before rolling out to additional markets in the coming months.

Other recent Heinz campaigns have focused on soil degradation using Fortnite, selling the same amount of hot dogs as buns in a pack, and calling out restaurants for refilling Heinz ketchup bottles with generic brands.

Credits

Date
Jun 01, 2023
Client :
Heinz
Agency :
Wieden & Kennedy - New York
Chief Creative Officer :
Scott Dungate
Creative Director :
Christine Santora
Creative Director :
Will Binder
Associate Creative Director :
Jessica Ghersi
Associate Creative Director :
Marc Duran
Copywriter :
Mikayla Dumas
Art Director :
Nikki Vandervelde
Head of Integrated Production :
Nick Setounski
Executive Producer :
Craig Keppler
Producer :
Ariana Ekonomou
Group Account Director :
Brian D'Entremont
Account Director :
Carina Polini
Account Supervisor :
Miriam Charry
Assistant Account Executive :
Emily Rivera
Project Manager :
Danielle Hillman
Brand Strategy :
Alex Nguyen
Brand Strategy :
Joe Bae
Brand Strategy :
Zack Plutzer
Comms Strategy :
Angel Navedo
Social Strategy :
James Williams
Social Strategy :
Syd Hutnik
Social Strategy :
Ni'A Landon
Director of Business Affairs :
Anna Beth Nagel
Business Affairs :
Andrea Fagan
Traffic :
Sonia Bisono
Traffic :
Jackie Crane
Production Company :
Love Song
Director :
Camille Summers-Valli
Managing Partner/EP :
Kelly Bayett
Partner/Executive Producer :
Daniel Wolfe
Executive Producer :
Josh Litwhiler
Executive Producer :
Deannie O'Neil
Head of Production :
Paige Kauffman
Line Producer :
Stine Moisen
Director of Photography :
Jasper Wolf
Set Designer :
Pablo Tregebov Poza
Stylist :
BRATSK
Editorial Company :
Final Cut
Editor :
Adriana Legay
Editor :
Matt Carter
Assistant Editor :
Alyce Muhammad
Assistant Editor :
Hannah Wederquist-Keller
Post Producer :
Jamie Nagler
Head of Production :
Penny Ensley
Executive Producer :
Sarah Roebuck
Managing Director :
Justin Brukman
VFX Company :
Blacksmith
VFX Supervisor :
Rodolfo Pereira
2D Lead :
Hannah Wilk
2D Lead :
Robert Bruce
2D Compositor :
Aaron Baker
2D Compositor :
Andrew Emmerson
2D Compositor :
Dylan Nett
2D Compositor :
Eric Concepcion
2D Compositor :
Gustavo Bellon
AE Animator :
Clemens den Exter
Designer :
Pierre Emperador
CG :
Jensen Abler
Colorist :
Mikey Pehanich
Color Assist :
Sam Howells
Producer :
Ashley Goodwin
Producer :
Paul O'Beirne
Color Producer :
Adam Vevang
Head of Production :
Perry Tate
Executive Producer :
Charlotte Arnold
Production Coordinator :
Joey Witten
Mix/ Sound Design Company :
Barking Owl
Mixer :
Stuart St. Vincent Welch
Sound Designer :
Gus Koven
Executive Producer :
Ashley Benton
Creative Director :
Kelly Bayett
Music Artist :
Chris Knox
Label :
Flying Nun Records
Publisher :
Hipgnosis

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