HEINZ KETCHUP | Heinz Dipper | 2026
A fry box turned into a ketchup plate / HEINZ KETCHUP "Heinz Dipper"
A pocket for holding ketchup has sprouted right on the fry box. And its shape looks just like the Heinz logo. That's not a coincidence - it was designed that way from the start.
The problem
Heinz's research found that many people who eat fries on the go have spilled ketchup, and that hard-to-carry packaging sometimes makes people give up on the condiment altogether. Eating fries in places without a table, like in a car or at a stadium seat, keeps becoming more common, yet the simple problem of where to put the ketchup has gone unsolved for decades.
The insight
There's a backstory to this project. Rethink had previously run a campaign called "Look Familiar?", pointing out that fry boxes all over the world share the same silhouette as Heinz's keystone logo, using that visual coincidence to show that fries and Heinz are practically inseparable. Dipper takes that observation one step further, building a shape resembling the logo right into the product itself. Rather than just making people notice it, the clever move was getting them to actually use it.
The idea
The result is an idea that uses the Heinz keystone logo as a blueprint, building a built-in dip pocket right into the fry box. By turning a takeout box into a dipping container, they turned it into a highly functional brand asset. It's not just about looks, either - they spent 18 months prototyping to match the viscosity of each product, engineering the strength and waterproofing so it wouldn't leak or soak through under the weight of the sauce. What looks playful turns out to be seriously thought through. It launched simultaneously on January 13, 2026, in eleven countries: the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Portugal, the Philippines, Thailand, China, and Kuwait.
What happened
The results were striking - within the first week of launch it became a global phenomenon, earning over 1 billion earned impressions. More than 900 new businesses joined Heinz Verified, the program for stores committed to carrying Heinz products, and at Cannes Lions 2026 it won multiple Lions in the Direct category, including Gold.
Afterthought
The strength of this project is that it didn't stop at just "showing" the shape of the logo - it went all the way to getting people to "use" it. What the advertising made people notice, the actual packaging keeps proving every single day. Every time you open the box, you end up dropping your ketchup into the shape of Heinz without even thinking about it. That might be stronger branding than any TV commercial.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2026
