Heinz Sparks a Saucy Argument as It Launches New Ketchup Pasta Sauce

Heinz debuts a new ketchup-based pasta sauce with a provocative campaign, sparking controversy among pasta lovers, developed in partnership with Wunderman Thompson Spain.

Italians look away now. Ketchup on pasta is a culinary debate that polarises social media like no other. It only felt right that Heinz, creators of the world’s most famous ketchup, and of a new range of ‘ridiculously good’ pasta sauces, weighed in. Introducing Heinz Tomato Ketchup Pasta Sauce, a new pasta sauce made with real Heinz Ketchup.

Recent research has shown that a quarter of Brits (24%) think it’s right to put ketchup on pasta. However, over half (59%) say they think it’s unacceptable. However, Heinz’ latest campaign leaves it up to the consumer to decide whether the combo is ridiculously right or just ridiculously wrong.

The limited-edition sauce is an exclusive recipe made with sun-ripened Italian tomatoes and combining rich tomato sauce with the iconic taste of Heinz Tomato Ketchup, creating an irresistible Heinz pasta sauce that’s ridiculously good.

The campaign, ‘Ridiculously wrong?’, devised by creative agency, Wunderman Thompson Spain, launches on September 27th, and will run until October 15th, running across social media and key out-of-home sites in London, Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester.

A teaser campaign, which went live last Friday, riffs on the iconic ‘Pass the Heinz’ ad, which featured in the Mad Men series and was later brought to life by the David Miami agency, to create hype before the product’s release. Wunderman Thompson Spain have replaced Don Draper’s burgers and fries with different types of pasta, creating provocative posters which ran across outdoor media in London.

Activity on social media, where consumer conversation originally inspired the campaign, will consist of influencer activity designed to encourage debate around the product. Heinz has also sent the sauce to influencers in the UK who have both foodie profiles and connections to Italy.

This campaign continues to build on Heinz’s 'Ridiculously Good’ platform, emphasising that, this time, an initiative like this could only be ‘Ridiculously Heinz’.

Caio Fontenele, Heinz new ventures director, commented, “Never say never! Rightly or wrongly, adding Heinz Tomato Ketchup to pasta is more common than you think, and with this as our insight, we launched our Ketchup pasta sauce so that pasta fans can enjoy the great taste of Heinz, judgement free. This limited-edition launch is the latest in a series of innovations responding to people’s irrational and long-lasting love for Heinz. However, for people who think having ketchup on pasta is totally unacceptable, we still have seven other delicious Heinz Tomato Pasta Sauce recipes ready for them.”

Pipo Virgós, executive creative director at Wunderman Thompson Spain, added, “Ketchup on pasta might sound unusual, but it’s a match made in heaven. What better way to promote this new ‘Ridiculously Heinz’ product than a campaign that fuels debate with a touch of irony? We’re big fans of the product ourselves and can’t wait to see what people think.”