They make some cracking ads over at Wieden + Kennedy’s London office, don’t they?
The shop’s latest effort sees it put a twist on the ‘It has to be Heinz’ tagline, swapping the brand for any condiment-worthy dish.
This new campaign ‘Trigger the Taste’ shows close-up images of its well-known products like Heinz Ketchup, Baked Beanz and Seriously Good Mayonnaise.
Pre-launch testing reportedly found that more than 70 per cent of consumers recognised Heinz as the brand behind the ads.
The campaign includes large-scale out-of-home ads in major UK cities, including London, Manchester and Edinburgh.
Heinz delivery trucks and London’s red buses will also feature the branding, with a special “Beanz Bus” hitting the streets. The campaign is set to expand into European markets, including Spain.
The art director on the campaign was Simon Allen while the copywriter was Patrick Silla. Media planning and buying was handled by Carat.
Joe De Souza and Juan Sevilla, creative directors at Wieden + Kennedy London, added: “Heinz’s iconic taste is at the heart of consumers’ irrational love for the brand. And it’s what led us to the campaign idea.
“You really can’t see ketchup without thinking about fries, or Heinz Beanz without thinking: ‘toast’. We loved the simplicity of this insight and also the chance to play with the subconscious. We didn’t need to overexplain it – the logo says it all; and you could say the campaign pretty much wrote itself. Ultimately, we love it because it shows that Heinz is all about one thing: great-tasting food. Simple as that.”
Unsurprisingly, adland’s chattering classes on LinkedIn lost it.
“Not having the logo on these has to be… bold!” wrote one user.
“Nice. No branding makes you think, and helps the message to sink.👏” wrote another.
“It’s great when clients trust their agency. Nice work.” said another.
Several users said the work evoked to Don Draper’s pitch for Heinz in the show Mad Men.
“Don would’ve been proud,” wrote Vinny Panchal, managing partner of London-based creative experience agency Bearded Kitten.
Maybe good ideas never go out of style.
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