While everyone’s just trying to keep busy and safer at home, this condiment brand saw this situation as the perfect opportunity to release a product that might just be the answer to our restlessness.
Around the world, people are running out ways to keep themselves entertained amid this pandemic. These days, our social media feeds are littered with pictures of friends, family, and celebrities trying their hand at baking, cooking, and whatever new activity there is.
Heinz, the famous ketchup brand, revealed on Instagram that it just dropped a fresh product, but it’s not something you can eat. Instead of a new condiment, the company released a “Ketchup Puzzle” unlike any other. The kit’s 570 puzzle pieces don’t make up a picture of ketchup bottles; instead, all the pieces are an identical shade of red!
This bizarre creation might just be one of the most frustrating jigsaw puzzles of all time. Since there are no lines or images to guide you, it will keep you busy for several days – which is actually a good thing if that’s what you’re looking for!
While “the slowest puzzle on earth” might sound like a nightmare for many, some enjoy the challenge of putting together monochromatic puzzles. For Heinz, it’s a very on-brand move.
“Heinz is known for its iconic slow-pouring ketchup. In a period when everyone has a little more time on their hands and puzzle popularity has skyrocketed, we wanted to help pass the time by connecting the two,” Brian Neumann, senior brand manager at Kraft Heinz Canada, said in a news release.
Solid-hued puzzles are the new craze as bored people have been taking up different ways to pass the time lately. But unlike other retailers, this one from Heinz isn’t available for purchase online or in-store. Puzzles are so popular right now that the condiment brand is only giving them away on Instagram. They only made 57 in honor of Heinz’s 57 sauce varieties labeled on every bottle.
Canadian puzzle aficionados recently had the chance to win one of these puzzles through a contest held by Heinz Canada, which ran from May 6 to May 9. All they had to do was comment on Heinz’s Instagram post showing off the puzzle’s red box and tag the person they want to complete it with. Based on the comments, it seems like a few have already won theirs, so it’s unclear how many of the 57 are still available.
“We’re always looking to deliver fun, contextually relevant ways to give our consumers a smile, and this ridiculously slow, all-red Heinz ketchup puzzle seemed like the perfect fit,” Neumann said.
The puzzles, dreamed up by the agency Rethink, are being given away to 17 countries. However, it’s unclear when, or if, they will be available to ketchup-lovers in the United States.
In an interview with Muse, Mike Dubrick, partner and creative director at Rethink, said:Â “This crisis has been challenging for everyone, but within that, we’ve also found time to escape our culture of busy, and take things a little slower. And since that slow pour of Heinz ketchup is ingrained in our culture, who better to release a puzzle like this?”
He said the agency was able to print and cut all the puzzles within Canada, as printers were deemed an essential service in the country. Therefore, they remained operational.
“I think it’s great that Heinz is doing something to bring joy to people,” Dubrick added. “It’s OK to smile and laugh. We may need to now more than ever.”
If you think this puzzle is up in your alley, try your luck and comment on this post by Heinz.