Yep. It stopped me, too. I was cruising down aisle 4 in the local Starkville Kroger grocery store, having just picked up my standard variety Heinz Ketchup no-watery-gunk, stand-on-your cap bottle. I had passed the Heinz section, even passed the generibrand section, and was moving on to salad dressings when I abruptly stopped my shopping cart.
It had suddenly registered with me that out of the corner of my eye during my selection process, I had seen the above ketchup specimen. The bottle was the same. The Heinz logo and their trademark gold and green were the same. The ketchup was red just like in every other Heinz bottle. And, it took it a moment for the question to register in my mind. But, there it was.
“EVER TRY KETCHUP CAKE?”
It was a subtle question. But, in those brief few seconds of choosing my bottle, I somehow noticed it, and I even noticed that there was a rweb address underneath it–one I assumed would tell me more about ketchup cake. It was intriguing enough that even after I had moved on to Creamy Ranch, I stopped my cart. I whipped it around to move against the flow–in violation of all Saturday morning grocery shopping etiquette. I back-tracked to the Heinz section, put back my same-old, same-old ketchup bottle and picked up the one about cake. You can bet that just after I got it home and into its rightful place in the refrigerator door, I fired up heinzketchup.com to search down a cake recipe related to America’s favorite tomato goop.
To my thinking, Heinz Ketchup cake was a fine example of inspired packaging. For a couple of reasons (well, at least five)…
1. It was eye-catching. Not in the bells and whistles kind of way. It caught my attention by its pure simplicity. It presented a simple question in black type on a white background. That’s all.
2. It showcased the brand. Of course Heinz was front and center. It was recognizable as the beloved company I’ve come to trust in my kitchen. And, if they could make CAKE with ketchup, they really must be the supreme authority.
3. It was an unexpected idea. Who knew ketchup and cake could go together? Perfectly stated in just four words, it put the operative ideas together to get me intrigued… Ketchup. Cake.
4. It provided enough variety to break the visual mold. Yes, this bottle was standing right next to the standard large-logoed Heinz fare. The shape and colors of the bottle were the same. It offered enough similarity to let me know I was looking at MY ketchup. But, it was just different enough to stand out. AND, there were other questions–ones about craving meatloaf or french fries. All were conceived to put the taste of ketchup in my mouth and stimulate my inquisitive grocery-shopping mind.
5. It gave me a way to further engage with the brand. I knew as soon as I looked at the bottle that the answer to my burning ketchup cake question would be found right there at heinzketchup.com. I found it quickly under the recipe link, and meanwhile, I was exposed to the “freshest” tomatoes they use to make the ketchup, the smiling faces of children just like mine enjoying the ketchup, the new “Dip and Squeeze” ketchup to go, and the possibility of countless other easy ketchup recipes.
By the way, the ketchup cake recipe was for a Spice Nut Cake and called for 2/3 cup of Heinz ketchup along with nutmeg, walnuts, lemon peel and the usual cake stuff. Can’t wait to try it!
