Advertising, Blogging, Branding, Creative, Marketing

That One Time Don Draper Collaborated With David Miami

March 21, 2017

By now you may have caught wind of this story: Heinz Tomato Ketchup is actually running a fictional ad campaign first presented in AMC’s Mad Men by the dashing, the debonair, Mr. Don Draper. Queue the girly screams.

The campaign is simple: feature pictures of mouth-watering foods missing one key component, Heinz Tomato Ketchup, of course! The tagline is equally simplistic: “Pass the Heinz.” How did the real-world agency David Miami decide to collaborate with Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce? How do executives feel comfortable taking an idea from a TV show? Well, folks, it’s actually subtle genius. Fans of Mad Men will go crazy when they see the advertisements run in New York, and those that don’t know about Mad Men? It’s still a pretty damn solid campaign (remember how we talked about nostalgia marketing last week?). Not to mention all the exposure the show Mad Men will be getting from this campaign. That’s some serious earned media right there.Advertising campaigns for products you may think are boring, such as Ketchup, don’t necessarily have to be. Heinz’s new campaign brings a little more imagination to daily life. After all, the idea for their campaign didn’t even start in this reality. It began 50 years ago, from the mind of Don Draper himself. Perhaps the coolest part of this campaign is the fact that the fictional agency Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, as well as Don Draper and real life show-writers Matthew Weiner and Josh Weitman are all credited in the creation of the ad. So, you know, Draper doesn’t feel left out. The campaign itself is a solid idea – As Don Draper said, you don’t need the bottle because the consumer will fill in the blanks themselves. He’s exactly right: sometimes an advertisement without the product says more. Simply suggesting that the void be filled with your brand/product engages the consumer and gives them a reason to remember your advertisement. It’s also a victory cry. We all know what Heinz is, we all know what purpose it serves. A brand so strong that “Pass the Heinz” is a phrase understood by everyone? Now that’s pretty cool.    10 out of 10 fresh ripe tomatoes on this one. Want more knowledge on how to get your brand on the way to stardom? You might like these articles: http://www.forgedigitalmarketing.com/2017/02/17/brand-gap/ http://www.forgedigitalmarketing.com/2017/03/14/nostalgia-marketing/