Heinz Decides To Use Don Draper's Ad Campaign From 'Mad Men'

When the fictional Heinz executives passed on Don Draper’s proposed ad campaign in an episode of “Mad Men,” they said, “It feels like half an ad.” According to Draper, the minimalist ad was proof you don’t even need to say ketchup or show the product to actually sell it. In the fictional world, they hated it. Apparently, in the real world, they love it!

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Heinz has decided they’re going to adopt Don Draper’s famous ad IRL for their new ad campaign. With its stark white background, and unketchup-ed food, the ad simple says, “Pass the Heinz.” As Don said in the episode, “It’s Heinz. It only means one thing.” Clearly, this is an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of the television series and draw some quick headlines, and it’s working. You can probably already imagine your super-hip friend walking past the ad and stopping to inform you about the origins of the campaign. Now, you can simply say, “Yeah, I get it. Cool.”

The ad is scheduled to appear in print and on billboards starting now. As is only fair, David Miami, the ad agency that actually exists and created the ad, is sharing credit with fictional ad agency, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.

When you see the ad, are you picturing the ketchup bottle? [AV Club]