When text-to-image generators took over our social platforms, Heinz was the first brand to tap them for a campaign. We invited consumers to suggest ketchup-based image prompts to try on DALL-E 2 Beta – the most advanced AI image-generator — before it was widely available. We gave everyone a chance to experiment with this new tech, and turned their suggestions into the first ever global campaign with visuals generated by AI, co-authored with our fans on social. The images were then displayed in an interactive metaverse gallery on Spatial, where people flocked to witness the range of AI-generated images.

Heinz Ketchup is a cultural icon - it’s not just a ketchup, it is the ketchup. But its status as an establishment brand meant it was in danger of losing relevance with younger audiences. Our objective was to reinvigorate a connection with consumers who weren’t seeing Heinz as a contemporary brand. We already knew that when people think of ketchup, they think of Heinz. Now we had an opportunity to find out what artificial intelligence thinks.

In 2022, text-to-image A.I. generators took over the Internet, with people making wild images from written prompts like “Napoleon riding a Harley.” Since we already know that when people think of Ketchup, they think of Heinz, we wanted to find out what happens when you ask artificial intelligence.

We turned to DALL-E 2, the most advanced Al image generator - so advanced that it wasn’t even available to the general public yet - and asked it what "ketchup" looked like. The result? Even to Al, ketchup looks like Heinz. Then we invited consumers to suggest ketchup-based prompts for us to try. And as the prompts got weirder, from "Renaissance Ketchup Bottle" to "Ketchup Tarot Card", the Al still generated results that looked like Heinz. Then we turned the images into a global OOH, print and social campaign – the first-ever campaign with visuals generated entirely by AI, co-authored by fans.

Throughout the world Heinz is considered to be a cultural icon. Heinz is the definitive ketchup. But to connect with a new, younger generation of tech and art fans who were seeing Heinz as old and nostalgic – we had to find a way to prove it without saying it ourselves.

We knew this audience wouldn’t be receptive to another brand talking about themselves, so we had to find a completely unbiased way to prove that Heinz = Ketchup. So, we used cutting-edge A.I. and asked a simple question: what does “ketchup” look like. Even when we asked people to provide us with ketchup-based prompts on social, we had a strong feeling the result would unanimously be Heinz.

We began by launching our hero video on social and asking people to suggest ketchup-based image prompts. Suggestions like “Basquiat ketchup” and “Ketchup in space” poured in from around the world – even other brands like Ducati and Sportsnet chimed in with A.I. ketchup image requests. We plugged the suggestions into DALL-E 2 and got results that shared consistent elements of the Heinz brand across an eclectic mix of styles ranging from Vermeer to Vaporwave.

We turned the images into the first-ever campaign with visuals generated entirely by AI, co-authored by fans on social. We featured them in social posts, global OOH, and full page newspaper insertions. We displayed them in an interactive metaverse gallery, as well as at an in-person gallery event in Canada. Finally, we produced special-edition Heinz bottles with AI-generated labels, and gave them to the fans who sent us their prompts.

Originally launched in Canada and the US, our campaign quickly went global, generating over 1.15 billion earned impressions around the world (worth over 2500% more than our media investment). Our 18 OOH boards delivered over 55 million impressions and received coverage in leading trade, art, tech, and lifestyle media outlets like Fast Company, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, and Forbes. On social, we saw an engagement rate 38% higher than past campaigns, with a significant presence in China, Chile, and Brazil.

By capitalizing on the text-to-image AI trend before any other brand, our first-to-market campaign proved to a younger generation of tech and culture fans that Heinz is the ketchup. Even the machines agree. Our campaign was so impactful, that in response Dall-E 2 was retrained to reduce brand bias.