2022 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

Over 40 tonnes of tomatoes are used each year for La Tomatina festival in Buñol, Spain, making it the largest tomato-throwing festival in the world. But in 2021, La Tomatina festival was cancelled for the second year in a row because of COVID-19, devastating local farmers who rely on income from the festival. Heinz couldn’t save La Tomatina, but they could
support Spanish tomato farmers.

Their objective was to keep the spirit and impact of the festival alive. They bought tomatoes from local farmers and turned those tomatoes into Heinz Ketchup. They updated the label on the classic glass Heinz ketchup bottle, replacing the iconic tomato hanging from a vine with a splattered tomato, and naming it ‘Heinz Tomatina’. They launched Tomatina Ketchup on August 25, the day the festival would have taken place, with bottles in-store and a contest on social media. The bottles brought La Tomatina directly into Spanish homes, and Spanish farmers across the country felt the financial benefit of Heinz’ support.

But they didn’t stop there. Heinz Spain made a commitment to purchase 50% more tomatoes from Spanish farmers this year, to use in their ketchup production. Heinz also signed an agreement with ALKAM, the Spanish Farmers Association, committing to financially support local agriculture and Spanish farmers for years to come. The campaign was hugely successful on social media and beyond. Their launch social post generated over 11 million impressions and resulted in the social highest participation rate and engagement ever for Heinz Spain. PR for the campaign resulted in another 11.4 million earned impressions and an ROI of 178%. The campaign even led to an increase of 1.3% market share
compared to the previous year.

Credits

Agency: Rethink
Client: Kraft Heinz
CCO: Aaron Starkman
ECD: Mike Dubrick
Creative Director: Natasha Michalowska
Associate Creative Director: Zachary Bautista, Geoff Baillie
Art Director: Mwangi Gatheca, Zachary Bautista, Natasha Michalowska
Writer: Pranav Sabharwal, Geoff Baillie
Strategist: Sean McDonald, Julian Morgan
Producer: A.J. Merrick
Studio Artist: Brad Kumar
Editor: Allain Elliot
Group Account Director: Karlee Bedford
Account Manager: Allie Kennedy
Printer: The Printing House
Photographer: Rob Fiocca
PR Agency: Marco