Heinz turned to Reddit, TikTok and Instagram to find stories about the irrational devotion that consumers have for its products. The results inspired the 150-year-old brand’s first global campaign, “It has to be Heinz,” which is Kraft-Heinz’s largest media investment to date.
Created by agency Wieden+Kennedy New York, the platform launches June 1 with a minute-long spot running across TV and online video. Set to Chris Knox’s “It’s Love,” the film shares stories based on true events of people demonstrating their passion for the brand.
These include getting Heinz-themed tattoos or license plates, traveling with a suitcase filled with Heinz Beanz, and sneaking a packet of ketchup into a fancy steak restaurant.
“The best part about it all is that we don’t have to make anything up,” Wieden+Kennedy associate creative director Jessica Ghersi said in a statement. “The stories are already out there.”
The campaign also features five vignette-style spots set to the same song that build on moments from the main film, such as a man showing off his collection of Heinz memorabilia and a woman swiping a mini-bottle from a room service tray in a hotel hallway.
“Tomato Master” depicts one of the men with that actual title at the company checking the color of all the tomatoes that will be used to make the ketchup, noting: “You think it’s crazy we obsess over the color of our tomatoes? You’re the one who walks around with Heinz in your purse.”
“As we looked to unify the brand under one global brand platform, we dove into the world of our consumers and found that they all shared one thing: the irrational lengths they go to for Heinz products,” Kraft Heinz’s chief growth officer of the North American zone, Diane Frost, 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.”
