Heinz Celebrates Its Deep Cultural Ties in Global Campaign

Heinz is the Nike of condiments and baked beans. Its name and iconography are instantly recognizable. They’re cultural icons of the highest order, modern-day totems with enduring power and appeal.

Just ask an A.I. They know.

Such societal scope fuels intense fandom—folks get obsessed with the stuff! And this consumer-brand relationship—a love affair of sorts—informs a global Kraft Heinz initiative launching today across major media platforms.

The theme line—”It Has to Be Heinz,” covering the full product range—isn’t exactly red-hot wordplay. It doesn’t have to be. This brand’s speaking from a position of strength, with millions of devotees signing its praises. Indeed, their stories fuel a raft of playful, relatable ads.

Developed with Wieden+Kennedy New York, the work serves as a grand celebration of all things Heinz and it offers a peek, perhaps, at oh-so-saucy times to come.

There’s an appetizing lightness of tone across the work, which tells real (or real-ish) stories of everyday folks interacting with the brand in various ways. Some choose to fill suitcases with Heinz Beanz. Others, in fancy bistros, season their filets using ketchup packs they sneaked through the door. Tattoos are big—and juicy.

“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,” offers Diana Frost, the company’s chief growth officer for North America. “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.”

Chris Knox’s piano-driven retro-bopper “It’s Love” provides the soundtrack. It’s the perfect accompaniment for dunking fries.

Camille Summers-Valli directed the spots through production company Love Song. Ads roll out across the U.S., U.K., Germany and Canada first, expanding to other markets in coming months.