Heinz Adds the One Thing Times Square's Giant Hot Dog Was Missing

Times Square's giant hot dog is missing something, and Heinz noticed before most people even realized.

"Hot Dog: The Second Serving," the 65-foot sculpture by artists Jen Catron and Paul Outlaw, returned to Duffy Square this summer with mustard running down its sides.

However, it had nothing red anywhere in sight.

For a food that most Americans dress with both condiments, the absence was hard to miss once someone pointed it out, and Heinz made sure someone did.

Working with agency Rethink and the artists themselves, the brand placed an ad just above the sculpture to look like a stream of ketchup pouring down onto the frank below.

The optical trick required no changes to the artwork itself, just a well-aimed sign timed to the sculpture's run through the heart of Manhattan.

"We've spent years championing HEINZ as food's best friend, especially alongside America's favourite hot dog," said Jamie Mack, associate director, brand communications for Heinz.

"Every iconic hot dog deserves an equally iconic topping, so we're giving it a finishing touch in true HEINZ fashion."

In short, it's a "public service for hot dog lovers everywhere."

Heinz Leverages Its Obvious Pairings

The move follows a pattern Heinz has been accustomed to for years.

The brand has staked its claim to hot dogs through the "Hot Dog Pact," an agreement pushing hot dog and bun counts to match.

More recently, it created a new Dipper format: a compartment within the fries box especially made for dunking into ketchup.

While conceptually different, each effort works the same angle.

Food items like hot dogs and fries are incomplete without Heinz, and the brand will keep saying so wherever they show up.

Even if that means creating a billboard in the middle of Manhattan.

The sculpture's return this year carries its own weight.

It arrived as part of New York's programming around the 250th anniversary of the country's founding, with daily confetti blasts pulling crowds back to Duffy Square through August 8.

With a pre-existing celebration in place, Heinz didn't need to build its own spectacle.

All it needed to do was hang a sign in the right spot.

Heinz's Uninvited Guest Approach

Heinz saw a gap in someone else's art installation and filled it with a paid placement that reads as commentary.

This confidence comes from category dominance.

Kraft Heinz holds an estimated 24% of global market share of the tomato ketchup market, according to Fact MR.

Given its scale, the brand has the freedom to be playful with its creative and explore content marketing formats that other brands would have to second-guess. 

This time, it sets its sights on a public art piece and treats it as unfinished business.

For marketers eyeing a similar move, a few things made this land:

• Pick a target people gather around: the sculpture had two years of press and a fresh news hook in the anniversary programming, so Heinz's placement rode attention that was already there.
• Always point to something true: the missing ketchup was a visible gap in the artwork, which gave the punchline a factual foundation.
• On some occasions, placement matters more than production: a single sign did the job a full campaign shoot usually does. This keeps the cost of entry low compared to a produced spot.

Overall, the campaign treats someone else's spectacle as free real estate, provided the brand has something honest to say about it.

Our Take: What Happens When A Condiment Brand Reviews Public Art?

We keep waiting for the next hot dog stunt from this brand, and it seems to just never run out of one. 

There's something almost editorial about a food company showing up to a public art piece with red ink, treating a Times Square installation like a rough draft that needed one more pass.

We don't know if the artists saw it coming, but it sure brought more eyes to both the brand and the sculpture.

Heinz got to play both critic and sponsor at the same time, and it's no wonder why it continues to dominate the market and stay on top. 

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