Heinz: Can't Unsee It
Heinz needed to stay relevant and top-of-mind during the competitive summer condiment season. They aimed to break through clutter and spark conversation, positioning Heinz as an iconic cultural player among a younger audience.
Creative Idea
Heinz subtly replaced Deadpool and Wolverine with ketchup and mustard in movie promotions.
Heinz leveraged the red and yellow costumes of Deadpool and Wolverine, which fans already noticed, to hijack the movie's cultural buzz and make its iconic condiments an unforgettable part of the summer conversation, proving once you see it, you can't unsee it.
The Subliminal Hijack of the Summer Blockbuster
1.58 Billion Earned Impressions
The campaign’s success was driven by a massive 1.58 billion earned impressions, but the true impact was felt at the register. Heinz saw a 2.9% increase in Ketchup sales and a significant 8.5% surge in Mustard sales, effectively growing their mustard dollar share by 12%. On social media, the "glitch" trailer achieved a staggering 789% engagement rate on Meta platforms, while maintaining 100% positive or neutral sentiment across all PR coverage.
The Ketchup and Mustard Set Nickname
The creative spark originated from an organic fan observation that Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman eventually embraced. On the film set, the crew had already nicknamed the duo "Ketchup and Mustard" due to the specific shades of their tactical suits. Rethink and Maximum Effort leaned into this "brilliantly dumb" connection, as CCO Aaron Starkman described it, to execute a cultural hijack. The production involved a "glitch" trailer that mimicked standard Marvel marketing before Reynolds’ fourth - wall - breaking voiceover revealed the "subliminal advertising" for Heinz.
Miniature Katanas and Mustard Claws
To deepen the fandom integration, Heinz produced limited - edition collectible accessories for their condiment bottles. These included miniature yellow cowls with Wolverine claws for mustard and red masks with katanas for ketchup. The brand also utilized OOH "glitch" billboards in major hubs like New York and Los Angeles, where superhero imagery was partially replaced by condiment bottles to mirror the film’s multiverse theme. This strategy turned the brand into part of the movie's "cosplay" culture, with fans appearing at San Diego Comic-Con dressed as Heinz bottles.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Heinz's 150-year legacy and globally recognized red and yellow branding provided a credible, iconic visual association.
Category
Condiments typically play a supporting role in summer meals, often overlooked by brands focusing on taste or texture.
Customer
Movie fans were already organically spotting and memeing the red and yellow costume resemblance to ketchup and mustard.
Culture
The Deadpool & Wolverine movie was the dominant cultural event of summer 2024, generating immense online buzz.
Company
Heinz's 150-year legacy and globally recognized red and yellow branding provided a credible, iconic visual association.
Category
Condiments typically play a supporting role in summer meals, often overlooked by brands focusing on taste or texture.
Strategy:
Leverage existing cultural phenomena to embed the brand iconically into public consciousness.
Customer
Movie fans were already organically spotting and memeing the red and yellow costume resemblance to ketchup and mustard.
Culture
The Deadpool & Wolverine movie was the dominant cultural event of summer 2024, generating immense online buzz.
Strategy:
Leverage existing cultural phenomena to embed the brand iconically into public consciousness.
Results
The campaign achieved 502% higher social engagement than benchmarks. It also garnered 230% more earned placements than other brand collaborations. Specifically, there was a 12% increase in Heinz Mustard dollar share. The campaign was noted to have outperformed all other Deadpool brand partnerships. Media outlets praised the campaign with quotes such as: "Sometimes funnier than the film." (BBC), "Best brand tie-in we've seen." (Fast Company), "Relentless, unhinged, makes me want a hot dog real bad." (Gizmodo), and was described as "irreverent and subversive" (Deadline), "iconic" (Vibb), and taking "cobranding to the next level" (Hollywood Reporter).
502%
higher social engagement
230%
more earned placements
12%
increase of Heinz Mustard dollar share
Strategy Technique
Hijack a Moment
Heinz capitalized on the massive cultural anticipation for Deadpool & Wolverine. By linking its iconic colors to the movie's characters, it became an undeniable part of the summer conversation.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Hijack the Medium
Heinz cleverly inserted its branding into official movie promotion channels, like trailers and billboards. This subverted expectations by turning movie content into a Heinz ad.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
This campaign's craft is exceptional in its ingenious visual concept and strategic execution, transforming a simple observation into a highly integrated and viral brand association that became part of pop culture.
The ingenious visual association between the characters' iconic red and yellow costumes and Heinz's products is the core of the campaign, making the connection instantly recognizable and memorable.
The seamless and surprising transformation of Deadpool and Wolverine into ketchup and mustard bottles within the 'trailer' and other visual assets was executed with precision, creating a 'can't unsee it' moment.
The innovative strategy of disguising the ad as an official movie trailer and strategically placing Heinz visuals in contexts where the movie was promoted maximized earned media and audience engagement.
The memorable and highly effective taglines like 'Can't Unsee It' and 'It Has To Be Heinz' perfectly encapsulated the campaign's core idea and resonated with the audience.
