• by Steve Ellwanger , August 11, 2022

How do you make branded commodities stand out in crowded CPG categories?

In the case of Kraft Heinz, it’s leveraging artificial intelligence to promote ketchup and playing on the “intense feelings” some people have for mayonnaise.

Last year, the Kraft Heinz “Draw Ketchup” campaign anonymously asked people to “draw ketchup” -- and many drew Heinz.

To confirm the brand’s hope that Heinz is synonymous with ketchup, the company just turned to artificial intelligence for more validation.

In the latest campaign, AI technology called DALL·E 2 used machine learning across billions of reference points to convert typed words related to ketchup—including “impressionist painting of a ketchup bottle”—into images.

Yes, Heinz bottles and labels popped up a lot, as seen in this campaign creative from Rethink Canada.

The spot opens with “Star Wars”-like music as the words “cow bus,” “fry castle” and “cheese planet” produce corresponding images.

Words like “ketchup,” “ketchup renaissance” and “ketchup street art” yield myriad visual portrayals.

There is no call to action in the spot.

“We're thrilled to see even the most unbiased source recognizes that when it comes to ketchup, it has to be Heinz,” said Heinz senior brand manager Jacqueline Chao.

The call to action in the latest iteration of the “Mayo of Mayonnaise” campaign that started last year urges people to “Let Your Mayo Freak Flag Fly.”

Creative from Wieden & Kennedy New York plays on the disparate and polarizing feelings that mayonnaise can provoke.

Each spot begins with such warnings as “The following was made for mayo lovers and with zero regard for anyone else” and “If you are easily offended by the sight of mayo, avert your eyes now.”

In “Sniffers,” a man opens a jar of Kraft Mayo and, yes, sniffs the contents while “Dippers” shows a mayo-garnished sandwich being dipped into…more mayonnaise.

“It’s time to say we see you. We get you. And we love the way you love mayo,” said Kraft Mayo brand manager Frances Sabatier.