“Pass the Heinz.”
Life follows fiction sometimes. Though Mad Men is officially out of air, its legacy is going to be enhanced by the channeling of a Don Draper pitch to a campaign for one of the most iconic food brands ever.
In the episode being referenced (“To Have and to Hold”- season 6), Ad Genius Don Draper pitched a campaign to Heinz execs to no success for the brand’s ketchup, that proposed not showing the product at all. To get the point across about the indispensability of ketchup, it was proposed that close-ups of foods that are well complemented by ketchup—french fries, a cheeseburger, a slice of steak—but without any ketchup in sight.
Heinz have greenlit the ads—and will run them almost exactly as Draper intended, beginning today, in print and out-of-home executions in New York City. The ads are officially being credited to Heinz’s current agency, David Miami, and the fictional house that Don built, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. (Draper and Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner, who approved the idea, are listed in the credits.)
July will mark the 10 year anniversary of Mad Men’s first episode.
Credit List
via AdWeek