Some dry humour from Heinz Gravy

We’ve all heard of twice-roasted potatoes, but have you ever tried 24-hour sun lamp baked turkey, or twice-microwaved mashed potatoes?

Those are just some of the items on the menu for “The World’s Driest Taste Taste,” a new holiday promotion for Heinz Gravy developed by the Toronto office of Kraft Heinz’s in-house agency, The Kitchen.

As part of the campaign, 10 unsuspecting consumers were invited to a meal consisting of traditional holiday fare like turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing, except each item has been baked, microwaved or charbroiled into oblivion—resulting in a turkey that looked like it was cooked by the Griswolds, and potatoes that would probably have tasted better right out the ground.

The premise of the ad is how long the dry-mouthed diners can hold out before reaching for the jar of Heinz Gravy that’s sitting tantalizingly within reach. “We’re not eating this, right?” says one woman nervously eyeing the carbonized creations before her. “This tastes like what I would imagine a loofah tastes like,” says another.

“Everyone thinks the holidays are about the main dishes, but as this challenge shows, it wouldn’t be the holidays without our hero: Heinz Gravy,” said Alyssa Cicero, Heinz’s brand manager, communications, in a release.

Although created in Toronto, the campaign is aimed primarily at U.S. consumers on the eve of the nation’s biggest food holiday, running online supported by a challenge using the hashtag #WorldsDriestTasteTest.

While food purists may recoil at the idea of gravy from a can, with inflation pushing up the cost of a Thanksgiving dinner to the point that some have said it might be cheaper to dine out this year, it’s perhaps a good time to push an affordable alternative.

And any turkey dinner can be enhanced by a nice Riesling. Not too dry though.

Chris Powell