After more than 150 years of being synonymous with ketchup, Heinz is turning a new page — and doing so in style. The global brand has launched a new campaign in Canada, created by Rethink, to introduce its latest range of mayonnaise-style sauces. The campaign cleverly uses nostalgia, music, and brand love to surprise consumers who think they already know what Heinz is all about.
The creative kicks off with the familiar Heinz sign, leading viewers to expect another ketchup ad. But then comes a twist — a simple “Hi” appears on the screen as Jay-Z’s iconic line “Allow me to reintroduce myself” plays, marking the brand’s entry into the mayonnaise world. The spot then reveals the new range of sauces, expanding Heinz’s condiment empire and repositioning it as both a ketchup and a mayo brand.
This major rollout spans TV, digital, and social media across English and French Canada, ensuring that the new lineup reaches fans nationwide. To strengthen visibility, Heinz is also taking advantage of key moments during the NHL season, securing ad spots on Amazon Prime Monday Night Hockey and collaborating with The Score through sponsored articles, takeovers, and multimedia placements during major hockey games.
Through dynamic content optimisation, Heinz personalises its ads by pairing different foods with the new sauce flavours, reflecting the diverse tastes of Canadian consumers. Additionally, the brand is partnering with leading food and lifestyle creators to launch a wave of fun and engaging content highlighting the new flavours.
In Québec, Heinz has tailored the campaign to local audiences. Playing on the Québécois expression “Hein?” (meaning “Huh?”), the regional version of the ad cleverly turns the brand’s logo into a linguistic wink, reinforcing the surprise that Heinz now makes mayo. Featuring the local hip-hop group Dead Obies and their track Pour vrai, the Québec campaign strikes the right balance between global consistency and local authenticity.
“Most people immediately think ‘ketchup’ when they hear Heinz,” said Brian Neumann, head of brand and creativity at Kraft Heinz Canada. “This campaign gave us the perfect chance to flip that expectation. With playful touches like ‘Hi’ and ‘Hein?’, we’re reintroducing the brand in a memorable way — putting our new mayonnaise-style sauces front and centre.”
Jacquelyn Parent, creative director at Rethink, added: “Heinz is the world’s most famous ketchup brand. After 150 years, people think they know exactly what to expect. Instead of fighting that, we used our iconicity to launch something new in a way only Heinz could.”
With this campaign, Heinz successfully blends nostalgia, humour, and innovation — proving that even the most established brands can find fresh ways to surprise their fans.
