Heinz - Bottle

The June Thinkboxes winner is a simple, yet effective, idea, which reminds consumers of the vital part that Heinz Tomato Ketchup plays at meal times.

The ad, entitled ‘Bottle’ and created by ad agency Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, is notable because the one thing that is absent throughout is the product itself.

The aim of the spot is to communicate the fact that Heinz Tomato Ketchup is so iconic and irreplaceable that you don’t need to see it to know that it is the subject.

In the ad, we see people from various generations patting, squeezing and scraping sauce from an invisible bottle, adding the final touch to different types of food, such as fish and chips and a hot-dog.

It is a confident statement, as other ketchups are available. The only shot of the product appears in the end frame, which signs off with the line ‘It has to be…’ next to a bottle of Heinz Tomato Ketchup.

Adrian Mooney, marketing director for sauces at Heinz, says the ad aims to convey the fun aspect of shared eating experiences involving the product.

‘We have a brand that has over 50% volume share and 70% value share so the key thing is retention of loyal customers,’ he says.

‘We worked hard to create something that typified the essence of Heinz Tomato Ketchup as being your mealtime best mate.’

Heinz triumphed over a strong shortlist. Second place went to Virgin Media’s ‘Fantastic Journey’, while Robinsons came third with its Wimbledon-themed ‘Imagine’ spot.

‘We worked hard to create something that typified the essence of Heinz Tomato Ketchup as being your mealtime best mate’

Adrian Mooney
Marketing director,
Sauces, Heinz

Ad info

• Client Adrian Mooney, marketing director, sauces, Heinz
• Brief To communicate that Heinz Tomato Ketchup is iconic and irreplaceable.
• Ad agency Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO
• Creative team Martin Loraine, Steve Jones
• Production Blink
• Director Dougal Wilson

Other ads on the podium

Virgin Media - Fantastic Journey

In Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R’s second commercial for Virgin Media, the agency develops a “powerful stuff” theme and further distances the brand from its recent celebrity laden heritage. This spot strikes out in a new direction, dramatising the benefits of Virgin Media’s mobile phone service – specifically, the power of the internet to transform your world. Featuring the track Into Dust by the US indie rock band Mazzy Star, the film opens with a man boarding a train. As he sits down and pulls his mobile out of his pocket, he imagines he is whisked away to be with friends and loved ones and is immersed in a world of music, film and gaming. The brief was to engage people on an emotional level and show them just how much the mobile internet can bring to them, from social media and music to film clips and games, all for less than the price of a packet of crisps.

Robinsons Imagine

For the centrepiece of this year’s tournament activity, Robinsons chose to highlight its long-running sponsorship of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships (“part of Wimbledon since 1935”) while seeking to build anticipation by speculating that 2009 could see a British player take the trophy. We focus on members of the British public – from young to old and across the ethnic spectrum, in urban terraces and high-rises to more rural settings – as they watch a crucial match point rally. As the tension mounts, their faces become transfixed by the action unfolding on screen, thrusting us right to the heart of the mounting excitement – and these shots are intercut with panoramas of deserted streets as the nation sits glued to its TV screens. Scenes of elation then follow when our tennis hero seals the point. A British Champion? “It will happen again and we’ll be part of it,” the pay-off line promises.

Also shortlisted for June 2009

Phones4U - Ping Pong

This campaign, the first courtesy of Adam & Eve since it won the account earlier this year, marks a new departure for the brand. Gone is the geeky hand sign and the cast of weird characters – and although the new approach still has maverick and challenging elements, it now seeks to target a young, tech-savvy audience through the pastiche of infamous YouTube videos. The company’s new marketing philosophy is that Phones4U will only let people buy phones in their stores if they have more than 50 numbers on their phone. So this campaign, spanning TV, press, radio and online, introduces the strapline “great deals 4 popular people” and shows us various characters (such as the Ping Pong artiste in this ad), asking us to speculate on whether or not they have 50 friends. Thus the big “yes” and “no” stickers that feature in the print, digital and outdoor work as well as on the TV commercials.

Strongbow - Last Push

This ad is the main thrust of a move to reposition the cider brand to target working-class “grafters”. In a scene that borrows more than a little from the rousing pre-battle rhetoric found in the likes of Braveheart, a leader figure passes through a group of tired-looking welders, scaffolders and railway workers, raising their spirits with a motivational speech – and he asks his men to picture their first refreshing pint of the day after their hours of hard work. Then, as the camera pulls back to reveal the true extent of this vast army, they charge toward the image of a pint of Strongbow, which glows like a distant beacon. The campaign seeks to tap into a national feeling that, against a backdrop of the banking crisis and the scandal over MPs’ expenses, there are a lot of people out there who are working hard but not getting the credit they deserve.