Heinz’s 'Ridiculously Late' Announcement Showcases New Range of Pasta Sauces

Heinz, a world leader in tomato products and sauces, has launched a new range of pasta sauces, 150 years after they first entered the market.

The campaign, devised by Wunderman Thompson Spain, launched with a full-page ad in The Guardian, apologising to the British public and Heinz’ founder, Henry Heinz, for not creating the pasta sauce they deserve – until now. In the long form copy they explain how they’ve created “probably the best pasta sauce you’ve ever tasted”, promising consumers that it was worth the wait, “because nothing so ridiculously good, has come so ridiculously late”.

Paco Badia, executive creative director at Wunderman Thompson Spain, explains: “Consumers love it when a brand like Heinz has the ability to laugh at itself. Before now, the brand had never released a range of pasta sauces in the UK, despite the fact that spaghetti Bolognese is one of the most popular dishes in the world and the third most-consumed dish in the UK. It was the perfect excuse for us to play up the brand’s tomato credentials with the launch, including how they produce their own tomato seeds, in the most Heinz-way possible, with a subtle and intelligent sense of humour.”

Caio Fontenele, new ventures director at Kraft-Heinz says: "The launch of the new Heinz Pasta Sauces is an important step in our strategy to expand the brand into new categories. Despite our extensive agriculture heritage and tomato expertise, this is the first Heinz pasta sauce launched in the UK —a market where Heinz is annually ranked amongst the most loved food brands. It was natural to launch pasta sauce, but we didn’t. Yes, we are ridiculously late. The Wunderman Thompson collaboration and fresh eyes on our brand resulted in a powerful and simple campaign that points up the iconicity of Heinz in a rejuvenated way without trying too hard. And the result is ridiculously good.”

The campaign is the result of a partnership between Wunderman Thompson and Heinz, with the agency involved in the conceptualisation of the product range from the very beginning, from the packaging design to defining the entire launch strategy.

Jose Maria Piera, chief client officer at Wunderman Thompson adds: “It’s a great source of satisfaction to be trusted by a brand like Heinz, who is a world leader in their products. Their ambition and courage have been evident throughout the process, and it’s a joy to work with a client who has such a brave outlook on advertising in such a competitive market. We’re grateful to the Heinz team for their trust in creativity ‘made in Spain’, and are proud to be exporting our creativity to one of the greatest markets for advertising in the world. We hope it’s a source of inspiration for our industry peers, as an example of our Spanish creativity can transcend borders to be showcased on the world stage.”

The campaign is supported by digital, social media, and out-of-home assets, including a billboard in Leicester Square which features the seven sauces in the range and copy that says: “150 years late. Seven ways to apologise”. OOH assets have been produced by Kiwi Visuals with animations by Gimmewings. The campaign also includes 30” TVCs and 20” videos focusing on the products, which were produced by Oxígeno Productions, directed by Jorge Palomar Stasny and featuring animation by Gimmewings Studio. Media planning and buying was handled by Carat UK.