As a tattoo fan, I kind of love this Heinz collab

Many brands can be recognised by their iconic colours and Heinz is one such brand – known for the vibrant ketchup red most of us see daily. Now, Heinz is collaborating with an ink company to make a tattoo pigment of that exact shade. Because why not. 

Whilst the collab is a lot of fun, it's also fantastic marketing – I definitely feel like it deserves a place on our list to the best print ads of all time. I mean, what's more of a permanent statement than a tattoo? It also isn't the first time we've seen some excellent branding from the food giant – we most recently shared a genius ad that shows the darker side of Heinz. 

According to Heinz, the project has been in the works for the last 14 months. The collab was inspired by the many Heinz ketchup tattoos that continue to circulate the internet, as well as the EU banning over 2,000 tattoo ingredients last year due to their apparent unsafe nature. The partnership, in collaboration with tattoo supplier Electric Ink, aims to provide safer tattoo practices as well as a unique shade that matches the official Heinz Pantone shade for all your ketchup-loving needs. You can see the innovative campaign video in the post below.

Heinz brand manager, Thiago Stelle, shared his thoughts with the world on the project. “A quick search of photos and hashtags on social media makes it obvious that Heinz fans love getting tattoos with our brand and products. We had to do something extraordinary for them and, as a result, bring a new alternative to address the issue of harmful pigment ingredients."

Alongside the development of the actual ink itself, Heinz has collaborated with five Brazilian artists to design over 50 original tattoo stencils to promote the project. The designs will soon be available to view on the Heinz website to give budding artists and tattoo fans some inspiration for their tomato-coloured ink. You can check out some of the collabs below, and keep an eye on the Heinz Brazil website for the release of the product itself soon.

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As an avid tattoo (and ketchup) fan, I must admit I kind of love this collaboration. It promotes safe inking, shows just how varied artistic inspiration can be and most importantly – it's just downright fun. The question is: what sauces will we see ink-ified next? I'm pretty fond of pesto green.

For more cool marketing, why not take a look at this hilarious ad by KitKat that mocks AI? We also have a list of our favourite uses of colour in branding.