CASE 151 / Heinz / Kraft Heinz / 2019
Edchup
Turn a genuine collaborator relationship into a reciprocal product detail that people can understand without reading a celebrity biography.
AI-assisted research and analysis for the SNS Creative Fieldbook; published by SNS Media Tech. No named human reviewer is claimed.
Sources reviewed 2026-11-05
Campaign credits belong to the original creators. They did not write or endorse this analysis.
Credits: DAVID Miami; the One Show also credits Kraft Heinz London, JKR London, Ed Sheeran and Grumpy Old Management, plus production partners.
Recognition: 2020 One Show Merit, Design: Branding / Branded Item.
Launch / edition: 2019. Award years: 2020.
The problem. The idea. The experience.
Ed Sheeran’s existing Heinz tattoo gave the brand a concrete sign of personal attachment. The collaboration developed from that visible relationship and his direct approach to the company, rather than beginning solely with the generic proposition that a famous singer could reach a large audience.
How the idea came to life
Heinz and DAVID created Edchup packaging, a commercial featuring Sheeran and a special bottle treatment using designs from his tattoos. The tattoo edition and broader accessible version were different parts of the same collaboration, not separate campaign counts.
How it reached people
Television, print, social discussion and physical packaging connected the partnership. The History of Advertising Trust received a tattoo bottle for its archive and documents a total edition of 150, including sweepstakes, auction and gifted distribution. Three were auctioned through Christie’s for charity.
Supporting sources: Primary agency portfolio → Primary award archive → Primary archive accession account →
Read the data in context.
The numbers below describe different kinds of outcomes. Their date, scope and reporting source are part of the result.
The One Show records a 2020 design Merit. Ogilvy’s portfolio calls it an exceptionally successful global campaign, but does not publish a comparable method or financial result. The verified limited-edition production count is not a measure of customer acquisition or overall ketchup demand.
The creative mechanism.
Reciprocal fan collaboration
Look for specific evidence of fit before buying fame
An existing product habit or public creative connection can make a partnership easier to understand. Ask what the collaborator would say about the product without a campaign brief. Do not treat a tattoo as a requirement or encourage fans to imitate it; the transferable point is credible fit, not the extremity of the proof.
Let the collaborator alter something recognisably yours
The packaging translated personal imagery into a brand-owned object, creating a reciprocal relationship rather than placing a face next to a logo. Smaller brands can invite a real customer-creator to reinterpret a label, ritual or usage guide. Agree the rights to every element, including artwork that may belong to another creator.
Create both a scarce symbol and an accessible experience
A very limited object can generate a story, but most people cannot own it. Give the wider audience a useful or enjoyable route into the collaboration that does not depend on winning. Keep edition sizes, prices and allocation rules clear so scarcity adds meaning rather than confusing people or manufacturing unfair expectations.
Treat charity and collecting as different value systems
An auction can raise funds while also creating a collectible, but those outcomes need separate records. Verify where proceeds go and avoid presenting a collector’s price as ordinary product value. For a small project, a fixed donation per sale may be simpler and more transparent than an elaborate auction narrative.
The intended behavior loop
- 01Recognise credible relationship
- 02Explore reciprocal design
- 03Choose ordinary product or limited edition
Growth job: Awareness → Loyalty / advocacy → Trial / acquisition. This is an interpretation of the mechanism, not an audited attribution model.
A direction to take into the room.
Original editorial interpretation and proposed adaptation. This is a proposed adaptation, not historical campaign execution or a forecast.
The transferable principle
Turn a genuine collaborator relationship into a reciprocal product detail that people can understand without reading a celebrity biography.
Keep these boundaries
Do not invent personal affection, copy tattoo artwork without rights or pressure customers into expensive collectibles as proof of loyalty.
Turn the lesson into a test.
Illustrative adaptation, not a historical campaign fact
A small-team experiment
A small condiment maker commissions a local illustrator who already uses the product to design a short-run removable sleeve.
Build the test
- Agree a fair fee, sponsorship disclosure, artwork rights and visible credit.
- Keep mandatory food information unobscured and publish the fixed edition size before orders open.
- Offer the illustration online for everyone to view, and use a clearly stated fixed donation if charity is involved.
Measure the right thing
Track margin, repeat purchase and illustrator satisfaction separately from collectible interest and donation totals.
Know when to stop
Pause if art permissions, label compliance or fulfilment capacity cannot be verified.
How this reading fits your brief
Start with the useful part.
Best for: Awareness → Loyalty / advocacy → Trial / acquisition
What to adapt: Turn a genuine collaborator relationship into a reciprocal product detail that people can understand without reading a celebrity biography.
Prerequisites: Artwork permissions; Fair creator contract; Packaging compliance.
Smaller-team route: A small condiment maker commissions a local illustrator who already uses the product to design a short-run removable sleeve.
Budget: Not established by the opened evidence. No cost-fit claim is made.
Trade-offs and evidence: Read the limits below before choosing a test. There is no guaranteed reach, sales lift or ROAS.
Questions for your next brief
Sources & further reading.
Brand and award-entry results are attributed claims, not independent causal audits. Source links open the original third-party pages.
- Ogilvy / DAVID: Edchup →Primary agency portfolio · Supports: Tattoo-based relationship, DAVID credit and limited-edition creative; unsupported superlative excluded from results.
- The One Show: Edchup →Primary award archive · Supports: Integrated collaboration, broader bottle version, tattoo execution, credits and 2020 Merit.
- History of Advertising Trust: Edchup bottle accession →Primary archive accession account · Supports: June 2019 collaboration, distinction between editions, 150 tattoo bottles and distribution including three auctioned.
Independent educational analysis of external campaigns. These are not SNS client projects, endorsements or claims of involvement. Campaign facts and reported outcomes are attributed to their sources. Explanations, adaptations and test plans are original analysis and hypotheses, not proven causal findings.