Adorable Heinz Campaign Gives Babies Something To Chew On
The household brand’s largest launch of 2023, the product pairs tasty and nutritious innovation with convenience for modern parents on the go. Through the advertising campaign, Heinz UK wishes to further its impact on the infant market while broadening knowledge of Heinz Family products and building upon the success of its ‘Pure Joy’ positioning.
An adorable commercial sees babies throw themselves at life - mouth first. Dramatic zooms and an intensifying orchestra lead us through a medley of toothless tots, indiscriminately gumming everything from paintbrushes and smartphones to whatever’s lurking on the living room floor. Children and parents alike appear far more pleased, however, when supplied with Heinz’s Immunity Pouches instead, packed with vitamin C and fruity flavours to nourish pure joy.
A Running Commentary worked closely with director duo Youth Hymns and producer Theo Youngstein to take a mighty swing at the brief and showcase the beautiful chaos of children in a humorous and playful way. With the campaign expanding to include VOD in addition to socials after Heinz UK and BBD Perfect Storm showed further confidence in the directors’ execution, it needed to be eye-catching and snappy to persuade viewers to keep watching.
An endearing cast of delightful babies offered a great starting point, but also brought its own challenges on set. In their first encounter with a front and centre infant army, Youth Hymns fostered a sense of play on both sides of the camera, helping to carry everyone through for a fulfilling shoot schedule.
Next, the duo focused on keeping up the film’s flow and pace to constantly offer the viewer something new, which required a number of different set ups. Well-versed in creating dynamic and engaging content, Youth Hymns utilised a variety of techniques to show the product from all angles and maintain the level of fun in the edit. Bringing the audience down to a baby's level and showing the macro details of the scene, they captured impossible perspectives with an eclectic mix of camera toys, from probe lenses and handheld super-wide angle shots, to 360º cameras attached to a spoon or semi-buried in mud.
Alex Bedford, executive producer at A Running Commentary, comments, “This was the perfect campaign for Youth Hymns to direct. It needed their energetic, in your face, bold and colourful style to land the message behind this ad. And, as ever, they brought loads of cool ideas to the script, from the transitions to set ups, in addition to their signature style. A Running Commentary at its core celebrates talent who cross disciplines, applying their creativity in different ways. Youth Hymns are the perfect poster child for this, with yet another production where they not only directed, but composed the music, and edited also.”
