Heinz has taken ownership of a common human food habit. You don’t start eating until the condiments arrive. It’s not a life-changing habit, but it’s global and Chilean agency, 1984, has had fun playing with it.
1984 has simply noted the behaviour in its campaign, with a rider, “If you’re willing to wait, it has to be Heinz.”
The campaign says that Heinz makes the best condiment very neatly, and clearly condiments matter to people. 70% of people around the world who happily hold out for condiments before eating, according to a global Toluna survey of 2,706 people.
The campaign is the latest iteration of Heinz’s It Has to be Heinz platform, and is the brand’s largest global marketing campaign since unifying its creative strategy under one platform in June 2023. It will run in the US, Canada, UK, Chile, France, Brazil and the UAE.
George Buneder, chief marketing officer at The Kraft Heinz Company, stated, “Nothing says ‘true love waits’ like a hungry diner willing to hold off eating until their ketchup arrives. It’s this simple, yet very real insight that inspired our latest campaign, The Wait. By observing real behaviours and turning insights into entertainment, we’re able to celebrate the wonderful, sometimes irrational love our fans have for Heinz. Ironically, the absence of a Heinz Tomato Ketchup bottle is what makes the ad stand out, making Heinz the absent hero of our own story.”
1984 founder and chief creative officer, Felipe Manalich, added, “We’ve become impatient consumers and in an era where we want everything fast, waiting is actually an act of love. The idea started with a simple observation. In a restaurant, people wait to be seated, they wait to be attended to, they wait for their meal to arrive, all to keep waiting. Why do they wait? We did the research and Heinz was the answer.”
It has to be Heinz launched with an anthem in 2023:
