Heinz: the brand was already in the machine.

The campaign record

• Brand / agency: Kraft Heinz; Rethink Toronto.
• Concept: Ask image generators what “ketchup” looks like, then use the outputs to reinforce the brand truth that Heinz is culturally synonymous with ketchup.
• Audience / objective: Younger audiences interested in AI and art; keep a legacy brand in the cultural conversation without abandoning its distinctive equity.
• AI technology: DALL·E 2; audience-supplied prompts were also used to extend the experiment.
• Human contribution: Strategy, prompt design, selection, copy, social invitation, packaging production, OOH placement, and experiential curation.
• Production / distribution: Prompt → image set → social conversation → digital OOH and special-edition bottles → metaverse gallery.
• Reported outcome: The One Club case record reports more than 850 million earned impressions, a 38% higher social engagement rate than past campaigns, and a global spread beyond the original Canada/US launch. These figures are reported in the award record, not independently audited.
• Strength: The technology proves a pre-existing brand memory instead of becoming the whole story.
• Criticism / limitation: Model outputs can reflect training-data bias toward an iconic brand; “even AI knows” is persuasive rhetoric, not an unbiased test.
• Lesson: Use AI as a cultural mirror when the brand has a clear truth to reveal.
• Source: The One Club case record.