Heinz and Absolut Pay Tribute to a Classic Campaign

The callbacks to classic campaigns just keep coming, with Kraft Heinz paying tribute to Absolut’s legendary advertising for the brands’ new vodka pasta sauce collaboration.

Since the year began, we’ve seen “I ♥ NY” tweaked to drive civic pride in NYC, Silk’s next-gen nod to iconic milk mustaches, and the U.S. Army’s revival of “Be All You Can Be.”

So far, these have met with varying degrees of success. The Army’s fared best, with Silk and NYC generating more nays than yays.

As for Heinz, the work from Wunderman Thompson Spain puts a playful twist on ’80s chic. Posters and billboards in the vintage Absolut style began popping up this week around London, emphasizing the shape of the brand’s—or in this case, brands’—bottles. Digital elements will follow.

“It’s only natural that we’d partner with Heinz on this ultimate collaboration between two iconic brands, with two iconic bottles, says Leanne Banks, U.K. marketing director at Absolut parent Pernod Ricard.

She adds: “Absolut was born to mix, whether that’s in delicious drinks or fun food combinations. Now fans of our brand can enjoy Absolut in an entirely new and innovative way.”

Running for 25 years from 1981, Absolut’s iconic campaign, a cultural touchstone in its day, featured two-word headlines. They invariably began with “Absolut,” illustrated by memorably on-point product visuals. For example, “Absolut Perfection” famously showed the bottle in an aura of divine light, topped by a halo.

Heinz’s refresh substitutes “Absolutely” for “Absolut.” And the images showcase pasta and tomatoes in eye-pleasing ways (they’re selling sauce, after all).

While somewhat of a stretch, we think this approach works as a fun tribute—and can also stand on its own. The stuff looks great and seems accessible even if folks don’t recall the Absolut original.

“The bestselling Absolut Book, which delves into the thinking and strategy behind the campaign, has provided creative inspiration throughout my professional career, long before we started working on this project,” says Wunderman ECD Paco Badia. “I would like to think that Richard W. Lewis, the author of the book [who guided the campaign for many years at TBWA] would approve the latest iteration.”

CREDITS

Brand: Kraft Heinz
Campaign: Heinz x Absolut Vodka

Client: Kraft Heinz New Ventures
New Ventures Managing Director: Caio Fontenele 
New Ventures Head of Platform: Alessandra Sega
New Ventures Senior Growth Manager: Riddhi Shah

Heinz Team: Alexandra Bayet, Isabel Oliver

Creative agency: Wunderman Thompson Spain
Chief Client Officer: Jose Maria Piera   
General Creative Direction: David Caballero 
Executive creative direction: Pipo Virgós, Paco Badia   
Creative Director: Gloria Hernández
Art direction: Sergi Boixadera, Carlos Galán
Copywriting: Albert Xifra
Production Director: Susanna Bergés   
Graphic Designer: Patricia Jiménez 
Account Director: Natàlia Gasulla   
Account Executive: Carla Pérez  

Stills and digital content: Pixfix

Photographer and video producer: Marcel Juan

Media Agency: Carat

Consumer PR Agency: Wonderland