Ryan Reynolds flair for ad humour teams up with the creative cleverness of Rethink in a campaign for Heinz that plays on the once you’ve seen it trope while also having fun with subliminal advertising. Once you’ve seen Deadpool and Wolverine as Heinz Mustard and ketchup, you can never unsee it.

The commercial features real footage from the upcoming Marvel Studios Deadpool & Wolverine movie (in which Reynolds stars again as Deadpool), with a brilliant Reynolds voiceover observing the flashes in which Deadpool and Wolverine are replaced by Heinz bottles.

“I don’t spend much time on the internet,” stated Ryan Reynolds who is also a writer and producer of Deadpool & Wolverine. “When my assistant faxed me a photocopy of a memo (he spelled it ‘meme’ – ugh, assistants amirite?) wherein Deadpool and Wolverine were identified as a HEINZ Ketchup and Mustard bottle, respectively, I thought nothing of it and went back to my book and tea. But the faxes kept on coming! So, the idea was hatched to actually partner with HEINZ to bring this memo to life. Huzzah!”

The campaign is a collaboration between Rethink, Marvel Studios and Maximum. Carat managed media; The Kitchen, social outreach; and Zeno Group, PR…

…and includes the release of limited-edition collectibles that let fans accessorise their ketchup and mustard bottles to resemble Deadpool and Wolverine miniature masks, suits, katanas, claws and slash marks.

“Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. It’s amazing that simply seeing red and yellow makes people think of HEINZ. But that’s exactly what we saw play out on social when the film trailer launched. It’s important for HEINZ not just to reflect culture, but to be part of it too. This collaboration gave us the opportunity to do exactly that,” stated Mike Dubrick, chief creative officer and partner, Rethink.

“After seeing the conversation on social media highlighting the similarities between our two iconic duos – Deadpool & Wolverine and HEINZ Ketchup & Mustard – we knew we had to team up with the film,” added Lizzy Goodman, brand communications manager for HEINZ US at The Kraft Heinz Company. “Once we made that connection – we couldn’t unsee it – as these similarities go beyond colour. One’s sweet, one’s zesty. Everybody has a favourite, but really, they’re better together. And most importantly, whether at the movie theatre or a cookout, both duos play starring roles in an epic summer.”