The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2025
Heinz drops its logo in 'It Has to Be...' ads — 70%+ still name the brand
After 156 years Heinz ran ads with no brand, logo or pack — only iconic pairings; pre-testing showed over 70% identified Heinz instantly.
Heinz (Kraft Heinz)
What it had to solve
After 156 years, the taste of meals with Heinz lives in the nation's subconscious — you cannot picture ketchup without fries, or Beanz without toast. The campaign 'It Has to Be...' set out to build on those deep-rooted pairings, with each image designed to make people crave the taste and the food pairing that completes the experience.
How it works
After 156 years, the taste of meals with Heinz lives in the nation's subconscious: you cannot picture ketchup without fries, or Beanz without toast. The campaign for 'It Has to Be...' set out to build on those deep-rooted pairings, with images designed to make people crave the taste and the food pairing that completes it.
Each image celebrated a classic Heinz product moment — a swirl of ketchup, a dollop of mayo — with no brand, logo or pack in the frame. The recognition had to come entirely from the product's own iconography and the meal habit attached to it.
Pre-testing showed over 70% of consumers identified Heinz instantly, proof that the anticipation the brand creates is second nature. The work was logged in the D&AD awards archive as 'It Has to Be...' — a demonstration of how far a brand can strip its identity and still be named by the public.
Why it lands
- Radical confidence: removing the logo turns recognition into the proof — the audience completes the brand itself.
- It works on the pairing, not the pack: the trigger is the meal habit — fries, toast — that Heinz owns in the consumer's mind.
- Over 70% recognition in pre-testing makes the subconscious association measurable, not just claimed.
- The move is transferable: once the association is that strong, every future execution can strip away more branding.
What it did
Pre-testing showed over 70% of consumers identified Heinz instantly from imagery with no brand, logo or pack — measurable proof that the anticipation Heinz creates is second nature — and the work entered the D&AD awards archive.
What you can take
The strongest sign of brand power is subtraction: when the product is iconic, removing the logo makes the audience complete the brand — and their recognition is the proof.
Since then
The campaign proved the association before it even ran: over 70% of consumers identified Heinz from unbranded imagery, evidence that the brand's role in meals is subconscious. The work entered the D&AD awards archive under its own title, 'It Has to Be...', showing how far a brand can trust its iconography — a reference point for logo-free advertising.
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