Heinz and Absolut Vodka's pasta sauce launch brings joy to pasta sauce lovers around the world.

Combining disparate elements such as Tik Tok trends, 80’s nostalgia and pop culture, the epic collaboration between Heinz and Absolut was an instant hit with consumers, becoming Heinz’s biggest partnership in the last five years. Inspired by Absolut's famous ads shot by Andy Warhol, the campaign turns back the clock to one of advertising's legendary eras and is covered in major media titles in more than 30 countries, including The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The Sun, The Mirror, and The Daily Mail, amongst many others.

Heinz X Absolut Video Case
We are determined to continue to innovate and delight consumers at the speed of social media trends. The iconic combination of Heinz's high quality tomato sauces and Absolut's premium vodka is set to offer fans the ultimate Pasta alla Vodka experience. And the result is absolutely delicious.

Caio Fontanele

Director of Heinz New Ventures

After 150 years, Heinz launched its first pasta sauce for the British market with the "Ridiculously Late, Ridiculously Good" platform and a year after its success, Heinz sought to refresh and bring new excitement to the category and the brand by creating buzz about what was happening and inspiring audiences find out more.

The inspiration came from “Penne alla Vodka”, a 1980s recipe that model Gigi Hadid turned hugely viral on TikTok. What could generate more buzz than launching this trendy sauce in collaboration with Absolut – the UK's #1 premium vodka? Clearly a win-win strategy was for Heinz to leverage the "cool factor" of Absolut, while Absolut could leverage Heinz’s iconic and witty brand.

The creative idea was destined to be inspired by Absolut 1980s and 90s print campaigns in terms of copy, art direction and craft. That’s how "Absolutely Tomato", "Absolutely Foodie" and "Absolutely Pasta" were born. We searched for a perfect balance between both brands by integrating Heinz with the most iconic silhouette in the history of advertising. We elevated the value of the collaboration by paying homage to the "old school" masters, making it look organic and no CGI was used in the process.

The campaign achieved astonishing results, quickly garnering over 500M earned media impressions and went global as it was covered in more than 900 media titles in more than 30 countries. It also generated massive social conversations, especially on TikTok, where #AbsolutelyHeinz achieved more than 6.6M views.

More than 200 fashion editors and well-known influencers reached out for product samples, and though sales weren’t the main objective, the product reached 50 units per store per week (versus a typical average of seven) and doubled projected sales. We're proud to say that the launch generated a 52% uplift on Heinz's entire pasta sauce range driven by this product alone.

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Awards

2024 Global WARC Awards

2024 Global WARC Awards

Partnerships & Sponsorships


Grand Prix

2024 Regional WARC Awards

2024 Regional WARC Awards

Partnerships & Sponsorships


Gold

2024 The Clio Awards

2024 The Clio Awards

Partnerships & Collaborations


Gold

2024 D&AD Awards

2024 D&AD Awards

Commerce - Brand partnership


Graphite Pencil

2024 Premios Nacionales de la Creatividad Española (c de c)

2024 Premios Nacionales de la Creatividad Española (c de c)

Craft - Art Direction (x4)


Anuary

2024 Premios Nacionales de la Creatividad Española (c de c)

2024 Premios Nacionales de la Creatividad Española (c de c)

Strategy


Anuary

2024 Premios Nacionales de la Creatividad Española (c de c)

2024 Premios Nacionales de la Creatividad Española (c de c)

Ideas


Anuary

2024 Anuncios

2024 Anuncios

Idea of the Year 2023


Idea of the Year 2023

2024 Premis Impacte

2024 Premis Impacte

Product Innovation


Bronze

2023 Eficacia Awards

2023 Eficacia Awards

Best International Campaign


Gold

2023 El Sol Iberoamericano

2023 El Sol Iberoamericano

Print


Silver

2023 El Sol Iberoamericano

2023 El Sol Iberoamericano

Integrated Campaign


Silver