‘Smack for Heinz’ billboards dispense ketchup outside Chicago eateries that don’t serve it

Chicagoans are famously averse to putting ketchup on hot dogs, with some restaurants declining to serve the condiment altogether. Now, Heinz is punching back with billboards launching today that dispense ketchup packets outside well-known Chicago hot dog stands. The pop-up billboards, designed by agency Rethink, are going up next to The Wieners Circle and by the McDonald’s at Navy Pier. (The fast-food chain ended a 40-year partnership with Heinz a decade ago.) The campaign video below was shot next to Superdawg Drive-in, but that eatery is not the target of its own billboard. The campaign is called “Smack for Heinz,” which has a double meaning—you smack a ketchup bottle to get the packets, and the campaign also playfully smacks restaurants for holding out on Heinz. QR codes on the boards lead to smackforheinz.com, where consumers can reports other restaurants for not serving Heinz. Billboards are also expected to pop up in other cities. Paid media driving to the campaign includes digital OOH, TikTok and Instagram ads. “The bottle smack is a universal symbol of the world’s love for Heinz,” said Geoff Baillie, creative director at Rethink. “Knowing there are restaurants all over the world who refuse to serve Heinz, we turned the Heinz smack into a way of helping people let out their frustration, and get the ketchup they want.” “One of the most consistent ways Heinz fans show their irrational love for our ketchup is their utter devastation and frustration when a restaurant doesn’t offer it,” said Lizzy Goodman, brand communications manager. “Underscoring our global creative platform, ‘Smack for Heinz’ not only combats this frequent ketchup catastrophe, but also demonstrates to non-Heinz restaurants everywhere the lengths our fans will go to because ‘It has to be Heinz.” Other agencies that worked on the campaign include Carat for paid media, The Kitchen for social media and Zeno Group for PR. Heinz has trolled Chicago before for its anti-ketchup leanings, introducing a supposedly new product in 2017 called “Chicago Dog Sauce”—which was really just plain Heinz ketchup.

‘Smack for Heinz’ billboards dispense ketchup outside Chicago eateries that don’t serve it

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