Who doesn’t love an unlikely collaboration? At first sight, it may not be the most obvious blend of brands to begin with, but the revolutionary and creatively limitless marketing mindsets of both Heinz and Absolut Vodka make this partnership one for the ages that has already led to some extraordinary success and results.
Both iconic, both groundbreaking. Heinz holds a long heritage of delicious products that have become everyday essentials in our households and Absolut Vodka is renowned for its advertising expertise in promoting its legendary spirits. When the two companies decided to join forces for a pasta sauce, it left many users and marketers thinking that they were getting pranked. Yet, the dynamic fusion of Heinz’s recipes and Absolut’s spirited sensations was very much a reality that took the marketing world - and their sales - by storm.
The trigger for this collaboration? Just some social listening to Gigi Hadid’s viral penne alla vodka back in 2020. The popular dish tracked a lot of attention and popularity on social media after the model posted a step by step guide of the recipe with everyone then looking to recreate it and that’s when Heinz jumped onto the bandwagon to take advantage of the hype. Jose Maria Piera, Chief Client Officer at Wunderman Thompson Spain - the agency behind the genius collaboration - told The Drum: “If you’re wanting to be part of the culture, you must be aware of the culture.”
The ads of the partnership followed the well-recognised pattern of Absolut’s quintessential advertising, where the pasta sauce was placed within the outlines of the vodka bottle, while the packaging was a blend of the colours and typography of both brands. Paco Badia, the agency’s executive creative director Paco Badia, also said: “It was super clear that we had to keep the heritage and iconicity of Absolut Vodka but of course bring the excitement to the pasta category that we wanted to build through Heinz.”. The inspiration of the campaign had to be drawn from the meticulously crafted and refined character of Absolut Vodka, who has long been considered the king of advertising.
The two brands managed to efficiently fuse the best parts of both brands, and despite their extreme distinctiveness and recognisability, the blend was seamlessly executed, with striking visuals that ticked all the boxes. The ads were utilised for both print and billboards, and the campaign also generated massive social media conversions, as #AbsolutelyHeinz generated more than 6.6 million views only on TikTok and achieved 500 million earned media impressions
What made this collaboration even more successful, was not only the union of their branding, but also the fact that consumers actually got something tangible from it. The pasta sauce was launched in the UK in April, and was always intended to be a limited edition product that would assist in raising brand awareness and engagement. However, the big success of the product itself may lead to its launch in more countries in the future, as with pasta sauce sales being up by more than 50% and the product selling out in 4 days - even ending up on eBay for 10 times its starting price! - this was a clearly successful campaign.
Though many collabs may seem forced or overly quirky without a true meaning behind them, this one speaks to the true power of innovation and artistry. The campaign hit all the right spots and managed to bring all the excitement and buzz for both brands. It was a win-win strategy, with Absolut having a lot to gain from Heinz’s wittiness, and Heinz leveraging the ‘cool factor’ of Absolut.
The collaboration proved that balance is indeed the recipe to success!
Source: https://www.thedrum.com/news/2023/05/31/inside-the-viral-heinz-x-absolut-tie-up-sent-pasta-sauces-sales-soaring