Remember my post on the orange colour and how this vivid colour was associated with the Hermès brand? Let’s have a look now at the latest Heinz ketchup campaigns in Brazil and Turkey and how they capitalise on the Heinz red colour shade.
In 2020, to celebrate the brand’s 150th anniversary, Heinz created its own Pantone colour: the “Heinz 57 Red ». The signal was clear: the Heinz red is unique and from now on, it is registered in the most popular colour classification code, Pantone.
In 2023, the brand goes further and involves consumers in its appropriation of the red colour. In Brazil, where approximately 37% of the population has got tattoos on their bodies, Heinz created a tattoo ink with the “Heinz 57 red” Pantone shade. In Turkey, where many restaurants tend to refill old Heinz ketchup bottles with non-Heinz ketchup, the brand launched a campaign to invite consumers to hunt “fake” ketchup in restaurants. A thick red line around the traditional Heinz logo was added and a specific Instagram filter was created to help consumers become real Heinz ketchup hunters.
Beyond their fun, creative and viral aspect, these campaigns prove us that Heinz is able not only to “own” a colour shade but to involve consumers and make them associate spontaneously Heinz with red. These campaigns show us that a colour can become a significant brand asset and an efficient marketing tool.
