HEINZ | SPEC SOCIAL CAMPAIGN
Don’t Knock It ‘Til You Try It.
Imagining a campaign for my favourite food - Heinz baked beans.
role: creative, director, shooter, editor
The puzzle…
People are weirdly judgemental about food combos, but loads of “wrong” combos are actually good. Heinz Beans are incredibly versatile, but are often confined to a handful of familiar pairings. Anything that falls outside of what feels familiar is quickly dismissed.
Setup
Two foods that don’t “belong” are brought together, establishing a clear contrast in personality and behaviour.
Resistance
The solution!
A social-first campaign that invites people to try unexpected combinations for themselves — using simple, repeatable formats designed for native viewing.
Heinz already knows it belongs and doesn’t need to convince people — it just needs to nudge them with the confidence of a brand that already knows it belongs.. Instead of arguing, Heinz lets people come to the realisation themselves — turning doubt into curiosity, and curiosity into conversion.
Heinz challenges that instinct with a simple nudge: don’t knock it ’til you try it.
Instead of arguing, Heinz lets people come to that realisation themselves — turning doubt into curiosity, and curiosity into conversion.
Instead of telling people not to judge, the idea gives that judgement a voice.
By turning foods into characters, scepticism becomes human and relatable, not preachy. The audience sees their own doubts reflected in Penne, while Heinz remains calm and confident, never needing to justify itself.
Turning judgement into character…
Moment
A first bite interrupts that certainty - the internal dialogue cuts off as doubt and skepticism gives way to realisation.
Two foods that don’t “belong” are brought together, establishing a clear contrast in personality and behaviour.
A mobile van invites people to try unexpected combinations, capturing genuine first bite reactions.
Built around the first bite moment…
Caption sparking curiosity
Taking it into the real world…
Capturing the moment…
Two foods that don’t “belong” are brought together, establishing a clear contrast in personality and behaviour.
One side questions and resists the pairing, voicing the judgement most people feel. Heinz doesn’t resist, he is calm, confident, and unbothered.
Real reactions bring the first bite moment to life in a raw, social-first format. Captions hook attention, build anticipation, reflect the reaction, and prompt participation - reinforcing Heinz’s confident, playful tone.
Audiences shape what gets tested next. Instagram Stories layer in participation through polls and prompts, allowing audiences to judge combinations before and after seeing the result.
Built for participation…
Two foods that don’t “belong” are brought together, establishing a clear contrast in personality and behaviour.
Conversion
Without explanation, the pairing is accepted, proving the idea through reaction rather than words.
The idea scales through a repeatable format built around the first bite moment, where scepticism turns into realisation. Each pairing follows the same structure, allowing it to work across scripted content, social reactions, and real-world testing.
Two foods that don’t “belong” are brought together, establishing a clear contrast in personality and behaviour.
1 retention hook
1 personality line
1 engagement prompt
Process…
1. Fast CU of On shoe laces being tied with audible "zip"
2. Fast CU closing the house front door
3. Centralised LS plane taking off from runway
4: MS people on plane are tired, miserable and uncomfortable, some have taken their shoes off. The "On man" in the middle is happy, getting comfy, listening to music and is smug about it.
5. LS Car pulled up in Swiss mountains. Friends are chatting whilst they put on their walking boots. "On man" keeps the same shoes on and is stood up ready to go.
6. MS He is chatting with his friend whilst hiking, they are smiling and laughing
7. CU to emphasise his happy, laughing, smiling expression
8. CU of his On shoes with audible noise from the shoes on the ground
9. CU his hair is swishing in the wind
10. WS POV looking up at trees from below, sun shining through, ethereal
11. CU sun shining delicately on his smiling face, we clearly see the details in his glowing skin
12. MS the friends hiking up an incline, "On man" is boldly and confidently leading the way with endless energy whilst the others are tired and flagging
13. CU his calf muscles contracting with each step on the rough, uneven track
14. CU beads of sweat dripping down his neck, he's panting
15. MS top of the summit, he pats friend on back who is exhausted and has had to take boots off, but he's grinning and looking out at the view
16. MS he's beaming, he's feeling alive and in the moment
17. MS the group of friends chatting in bar
18. CU glasses clinking as they 'cheers'
19. MS POV grinning selfie shot together
20. CU of hands dancing under the strobs lights
21. CU she's trying to adjust uncomfortable shoe
22. MS friends are tired, gestures towards leaving the bar
23. MS from behind, "On man" sat at bar with empty stool next to him
24. MS from front, woman sits next to him and they're chatting
25. CU she's laughing and blushing
26. LS we see them dancing together in amongst the crowd
27. MS under the strobe lights, they gaze into each others eyes
28. MS he's diving headfirst into a lake
29. MS he's waiting whilst she takes her shoes off ready to join him
30. MS we linger on this shot and see her On shoe next to his On shoe, the two of them are having a special moment, the sun is rising in the background behind the Swiss mountains