There are numerous theories about the psychology of logo shapes and what they convey to consumers, but separating a logo from key brand elements like a name or other identifying marks is a tricky process that can only be pulled off by a select few.
That’s the basis of a new campaign for Heinz Ketchup from Rethink, which takes food items typically associated with ketchup—like French fries, burgers and hot dogs*—and presents them in the shape of its instantly recognizable keystone-shaped logo.
The ads are running across digital and out-of-home, as well as a print ad in the April 21 edition of The Globe and Mail.
Daniel Gotlib, associate director of brand building and innovation at Kraft Heinz Canada, said the campaign grew out of this year’s “Draw ketchup” campaign, in which people were given a paper and some coloured pencils and given instructions to simply “draw ketchup.”
Many of the participants came back with drawings featuring a rendering of the instantly recognizable Heinz logo. “That intuitive association with the Heinz logo crystallized our approach for this campaign,” said Gotlib
We’d like to think there was a meeting in which the Heinz marketing team asked their creative partners at Rethink to make the logo burger.
(*The use of ketchup on hot dogs is particularly contentious. In its “Hot Dog Etiquette” released last year, the U.S. National Hot Dog and Sausage Council deemed ketchup an unacceptable condiment for any hot dog eater over the age of 18.)