2022 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Heinz ketchup is known the world over for being the ketchup. It’s the original and has been for over 150 years. Being as big and as old as Heinz has its own set of challenges. Specifically when it comes to maintaining relevance and brand love while staying top of mind amidst a sea of new ketchup competitors.

The challenge was to create a summer campaign that bolstered Heinz iconic status to ensure they stay top of mind during the high season for condiment sales, summer BBQ season.

They needed to get consumers talking about Heinz in a new way. One that would create brand love while utilizing an insight that felt natural to the BBQ season but, ownable for Heinz.

Through social listening and cultural commentary they realized that there was a problem consumers were upset about: hot dogs are sold in packs of 10 while buns only come in packs of 8.

Known for making our favourite foods even better, Heinz had a role to play in taking a stand against big bun and big weiner to once and for all fix the uneven package conundrum. The solution was to create The Heinz Hot Dog Pact. A rally cry for hot dog and bun companies to finally make even packages.

Traditional summer campaigns typically highlight pool parties and backyard BBQs. Heinz challenged the status quo by giving people something to talk about while at these summer events.

It all started with a launch video that clearly outlined the issue and called on consumers to take action by signing Heinz Hot Dog Pact on Change.org. The petition caught on like wildfire gaining over 15,000 signatures in the first 24 hours. Food and lifestyle influencers helped share the pact while hot dog and bun brands furiously crafted responses to their posts.

The campaign was an overnight success. With Change.org having over 1K petitions created a day, the Heinz Hot Dog Pact quickly became one of the top petitions on the site.

Their goal of creating a summer Heinz moment people would talk about was achieved in spades. They hit a whopping $13MM in earned media and had over 1.2 billion earned impressions. Overall sales were up 2.3% from 2019 and they saw a 1% increase in share within
the Ketchup category.

As for the uneven hot dog and buns packages, brands have been calling off the hook and there will be a followup solution spring 2022.

Credits

Chief Creative Officer: Aaron Starkman
Executive Creative Director: Mike Dubrick
Head of Art / Creative Director : Joel Holtby
Creative Director : Natasha Michalowska
Associate Creative Director / Art Director : Zachary Bautista
Associate Creative Director / Writer : Geoff Baillie
Art Director: Danielle Zablocki
Writer: London Choi
Designer: Tulio Pinto
Strategist: Sean McDonald, Julian Morgan
Producers: Alex Butt
Print Producer: AJ Merrick, Jenna Fullerton
Editor: Tyler Erdelac
VFX / Colour Artist: Emmett Maloney
Group Account Director: Amy Greenspoon
Account Director: Kai de Bryun Kops
Account Manager: Allie Kennedy
Audio House: Grayson Matthews
Audio Engineer: Brian Bernard
Photographer: Rob Fiocca
Printer: PrintPro Services
PR Agency: The Colony Project
Media Agency: CARAT
Community Management: The Kitchen

Client:
Head of Brand Build Communications & Innovation: Nina Patel
Associate Director, Brand Building & Innovation – Taste Elevation: Daniel Gotlib
Sr. Associate Brand Manager – Innovation, Condiments & Sauces: Carlos Vidanes