If you were asked to draw ketchup, what would it look like? Most people across five continents drew the Heinz ketchup bottle. That says market leader in bold (without the cliché), doesn’t it?

The idea came from Canadian agency, Rethink. People were simply invited to draw ketchup. The only thing they knew was that they were participating in an anonymous social experiment for a commercial. They had no idea what brand it was for. Most drew the red bottle with “Heinz” from memory. Some even added details such as the keystone label, a tomato hanging from a vine, or the number 57 on the neck of a glass bottle.

“Whether it was the glass bottle, the logo with a tomato, or simply just HEINZ scrawled across the bottle, it was pretty amazing to see,” stated Rethink managing partner and executive creative director, Mike Dubrick.

The campaign now includes the video of the experiment, billboard featuring some of the sketches and packaging.

Heinz is also inviting other Canadians to join in the fun and add their own drawings at DrawKetchup.ca for a chance to win one of 250 custom Heinz bottles featuring their label. 

“Consumers love the unmistakable taste of Heinz, and people around the world give credit to Heinz Ketchup as the original and only option out there,” stated Daniel Gotlib, associate director of brand building and innovation at Kraft Heinz Canada. “We wanted to uncover that instinctual and intuitive association consumers have between ketchup and Heinz. When we anonymously asked consumers to simply draw ketchup, we learned that when people think ketchup, they think and visualize Heinz—everything from our deep red colour and distinctive name to the keystone label and, of course, our iconic glass bottle.”

Credits:

Agency: Rethink
Chief Creative Officer: Aaron Starkman
Executive Creative Director: Mike Dubrick
Creative Director, Head of Art: Joel Holtby 
Art Director, Associate Creative Director: Zachary Bautista
Copywriter: Geoff Baillie
Designer: Jaclyn McConnell
Strategists: Sean McDonald & Julian Morgan  
Producer: Alex Butt
Production Coordinator: Spencer Houghton
Print Producer: Narine Artinian
Account Management: Amy Greenspoon, Kai de Bruyn Kops & Allie Kennedy

Production Company: R+D Productions 
DoP: AA Scott McClellan
Editor: Stephen Parker
Colour & Online: Emmett Maloney
Audio House: Art Mullin @ Vapor Music

Client: Kraft Heinz 
Head of Brand Build Communications & Innovation: Nina Patel 
Associate Director, Brand Building & Innovation – Taste Elevation: Daniel Gotlib 
Senior Brand Manager Brand Building & Innovation: Chanel Simpson 
Senior Associate Brand Manager: Keeyan Arvandi

PR Agency: The Colony Project
Media Agency: CARAT
Community Management: SALT