Cooking with Fire: Why Things are Heating up at The Kitchen, Kraft Heinz’s Inside Agency

Food, to borrow a phrase, means Heinz. Kraft Heinz brands are so deeply embedded in the culinary world of households that their products have become part of the essential furniture of kitchens. Ketchup in the fridge (or the cupboard if you’re weird), Philadelphia cream cheese in your sandwiches, Kool-Aid in the kids’ lunchboxes, Lea & Perrins’ worcestershire sauce in the pantry, and of course a melted Kraft single on your cheeseburger. These are brands and products that have become deeply ingrained in day-to-day life. And yet, there’s nothing quotidian or run-of-the-mill about the creative output from The Kitchen, Kraft Heinz’s dedicated inside agency.

“At The Kitchen, we focus on one simple human truth, which is that we are all hard-wired to connect”, agency head Tom Evans tells LBB. “We connect our brands with consumers in a meaningful way, and in all the right places. When you take an iconic brand and infuse their existence into the many layers of culture, sometimes in unusual or irrational ways, you create memorable moments that people talk about and want to be a part of”.

That philosophy explains so much of the company’s success. Although many Kraft Heinz brands are established household names, they both made and retained their reputations by surprising and delighting their audiences. That’s an attitude which is understood by The Kitchen, and it informs a unique tone of voice for each Kraft Heinz brands which can often be playful, sometimes irreverent, but always positive and uplifting.

“We go where mass advertising falls short”, explains Tom. “We meet our brand’s target audiences where it matters, building authentic relationships and opening the taste buds of those around them. We don’t do noise, we do what is meaningful and impactful for our brands and their consumers”.

Sometimes, that involves creating stuff which - in the agency leader’s own words - “freaks out our lawyers”. But the overarching goal of authentic connection takes precedence. By way of an example, Tom points towards The Kitchen’s recent work with Kraft Real Mayonnaise.

“We tackled the challenge of making ‘moist’ appetizing again. Yeah, you heard me right - moist”, he laughs. “We went all out, rallying the internet to make it the ‘Word of The Year’ with Merriam Webster. We launched a grassroots campaign, plastering the digital world with our message. We even plopped an 8-foot mayo jar outside Merriam Webster's HQ for good measure”.

Whilst, tragically, ‘moist’ didn’t get the nod as word of the year, Tom and the team at The Kitchen still reflect back on the campaign with justified pride. “We sure changed the game on how people see ‘moist’ online”, he notes. “Talk about a win, with over 381 million earned impressions and a whopping 75% jump in Google searches for ‘moist’”, skyrocketing engagement and conversation about the product.

The ‘moist’ campaign is one of many examples where The Kitchen has achieved cut-through by tapping into the zeitgeist - riding the crest of cultural waves at just the right moment. That’s no accident, as Tom goes on to explain.

“Kraft Heinz brands have their eyes set on winning over the younger crowd, and that's where The Kitchen comes in”, he says. “We're all about going above and beyond to connect with this audience. Our team is stacked with Gen Zers, who help us to dish out attention-grabbing, engaging content that's right up their alley - full of humour and wit. That's how we help our brands shine in a sea of competition”.

He’s not kidding. Early last year, the agency achieved a slew of coverage in mainstream earned media with its now Cannes Lion-winning #FindTheKetchupBoatGuy campaign.

“After learning of Elvis Francois, a Dominican sailor who was found adrift at sea after 24 days surviving on nothing but ketchup, Heinz wanted to reward him for his ordeal”, recounts Tom. “But there was one problem - we couldn't find him”.

To aid the company in its search, The Kitchen launched #FindTheKetchupBoatGuy, enlisting the help of the internet to track Elvis down. And, almost two and a half thousand news stories across the likes of CNN, CBS, and USA Today later, Heinz located the condiment-loving captain and rewarded him with a new boat.

Again, that knack of playful, uplifting, and captivatingly human storytelling shines through. It’s a universal approach which sometimes leads to unexpected places - like when the agency showed up in Roblox to add its weight to players’ demands for the game’s legendary ‘bacon hair’ to be reinstated following its removal in an update.

“Oscar Mayer, America's bacon aficionados, swooped in to save the day on that one”, recalls Tom. “We knew we had to show our support and rally the troops, so we cooked up a plan: Let's give these disgruntled fans a way to express their love for bacon hair, and tell Roblox they want it back in the game”

Incredibly, the campaign worked like a charm. “We teamed up with Lana Rae, a big shot in the Roblox streaming scene, to spread the word and get fans on board”, says Tom. “Fans flocked to our filter, showing off their bacon pride and sending a clear message to Roblox. It was a bacon-filled revolution, and we were right at the forefront”.

All of those examples serve to illustrate that uncanny ability to chime with audiences’ moods. More than anything else, that’s what makes both The Kitchen’s work, and Kraft Heinz’s products, relevant. It also requires a level of agility and speed which, as Tom points out, comes so much more naturally to an inside agency. “The autonomy and trust obtained by being an inside agency and working together with our brand partners is parallel to none”, he argues. “With that comes our ability to be nimble, react to cultural moments without the red tape and have business impact that matters. That’s a lot tougher for an outside agency”.

Whatever the precise recipe, there’s no arguing with the end product. And, happily, it’s a point of pride for Tom that the sense of fun and creative experimentation fuelling the ads is also felt by the team internally.

“The vibe just hits different here. We are all food-obsessed, and we genuinely like each other”, he says. “After all, there’s no b_tchin’ in The Kitchen!”