Heinz ketchup has been an icon for over 150 years. But being the original means that Heinz was becoming seen as old and nostalgic by younger audiences. For the first time in decades, affinity scores declined and Heinz was falling out of the conversation. Our brief was to create a PR led campaign that connected with Gen-Z and millennials who didn’t see Heinz as a contemporary brand.

A lot of brands have been using fast fashion collabs to connect with Gen-Z and millennials. But our research showed that young people are increasingly rejecting fast fashion in the name of sustainability - 62% of Gen-Z and millennials have even started looking for second-hand clothing before purchasing new. Used clothes with wear-and-tear, even stains, are being embraced. As an industry leader in staining clothes, Heinz saw an opportunity to reframe the stain as a positive while authentically tapping into thrifting culture.

Introducing Heinz Vintage Drip, a thrifted collection of luxe and streetwear brands, all with Heinz ketchup stains. We curated the zero-waste collection in partnership with thredUp, the world’s largest resale platform and a pioneer in fashion sustainability. It featured 157 unique items from dozens of brands like Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, and Nike, all with Heinz stains. We embraced the Heinz stain as a brand symbol that has dripped on the most iconic logos in fashion, to create the world’s largest (unauthorized) brand collab. One that didn’t require any resources to make new clothes, and even prevented second hand clothes from being thrown away. Items from the sold-out collection were worn by fashion influencers at NYFW, with all proceeds supporting global hunger relief. While other brands embraced fast fashion collabs, Heinz and thredUp put the stain in sustainability.

Gen-Z’s love of thrifting, sustainability and fashion became the driving insight for our campaign. As thrifted clothes with wear and tear, and even stains, became fashionable, we saw an opportunity to turn Heinz stains into a fashion statement. To pull this off, it was crucial to find a consignment partner with credibility in the secondhand fashion space. So we launched the Heinz Vintage Drip collection on thredUp with a comprehensive strategic PR approach in the lead-up to New York Fashion Week. Embargoed earned outreach, fashion influencer social posts, and a launch video featuring models wearing Heinz Vintage Drip all invited people to shop the collection at thredup.com/heinz. Every touchpoint reinforced our message and challenged perceptions of ketchup stains: when it’s Heinz, it’s not a stain – it's a statement.

We partnered with thredUP to curate the Heinz Vintage Drip collection, featuring 157 unique items from brands like Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, and Nike, all with Heinz ketchup stains. Fashion influencers like Antoni Bumba, Nazjaa, Sym Clarke, Izzi Poopi and Mirian Njoh, showed how to style items from the collection on their Instagram and TikTok feeds, earning the approval of R&B singer SZA. Some even went to NYFW in Heinz-stained items from brands like Armani. All campaign assets drove to thredup.com/heinz, where people could shop the collection. The collection sold out, with all proceeds used to support global hunger relief. While other brands embraced fast fashion collabs, Heinz got more life out of secondhand clothes – and put the stain in sustainability.

The campaign was an immense success, garnering over 1.75 billion earned impressions with 100% positive/neutral sentiment – more than 400% above our benchmarks. Our influencer campaign ER was 583% above benchmarks, helping us drive over 135k visits to the thredUP HEINZ landing page. Our shoppable OLV delivered over 10MM impressions and had an ER over 100% above benchmarks and a click-through rate 20% higher than benchmarks.

Heinz Vintage Drip also scored a full segment on the Drew Barrymore Show, organic praise from the singer SZA, and was featured on CBS, Unilad, and The Daily Mail. Even other brands like Tide and Burger King jumped in on the action with unsolicited responsive social posts.

Most importantly, the collection sold out with all proceeds going to Rise Against Hunger.