Heinz’s First Global Campaign in 150 Years Tells True Stories of Obsessed Fans

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.”

The campaign will begin in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Germany before rolling out to additional markets over the next six months.

CREDITS

Agency: Wieden+Kennedy New York

Chief creative officer: Scott Dungate
Creative directors: Christine Santora & Will Binder    
Associate creative directors: Jessica Ghersi & 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, Joe Bae, Zack Plutzer
Comms strategy: Angel Navedo
Social strategy: James Williams, Syd Hutnik, Ni’A Landon     
Director of business affairs: Anna Beth Nagel          
Business affairs: Andrea Fagan
Traffic: Sonia Bisono, 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, Matt Carter      
Assistant editors: Alyce Muhammad, 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 leads: Hannah Wilk, Robert Bruce
2D compositors: Aaron Baker, Andrew Emmerson, Dylan Nett, Eric Concepcion, Gustavo Bellon
AE animator: Clemens den Exter
Designer: Pierre Emperador
CG: Jensen Abler
Colorist: Mikey Pehanich
Color assist: Sam Howells
Producers: Ashley Goodwin, 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                                                                                                                                             
Track: “It’s Love”
Label: Flying Nun Records
Publisher: Hipgnosis
Music artist: Chris Knox