A Christmas spec advert for Heinz Ketchup, shot in Brighton with a local crew, built around one festive crime that divides the table and proves some traditions are made to be challenged.
Heinz
Gusto Film
Tom Staniford
Socials
30s Hero 16:9, 1:1, 9:16
10 weeks
Subtitle
The Brief
We created a Christmas spec ad for Heinz Ketchup to explore a simple seasonal contradiction. Ketchup is loved all year round, yet at Christmas it’s treated like a guilty secret. The brief was to see whether a single, provocative moment could keep Heinz culturally relevant during a period ruled by tradition and strong opinions.
The focus was on creating something people would react to, remember and talk about, without relying on conventional product messaging.
The Approach
We built the film around one disruptive idea and let craft do the heavy lifting.
Casting was carefully balanced across ages and attitudes, giving us a table full of recognisable characters with very different views on Christmas “rules”. The setting was designed to feel warm, intimate and familiar. Though it plays as a traditional family dining room, the film was shot in a private dining space at Brighton’s Hotel du Vin and dressed to feel lived-in and believable.
Art direction and lighting stayed intentionally restrained, keeping focus on faces and reactions. Slow motion allowed those reactions to land with weight, while the reveal was saved for last, introducing our quietly defiant anti-hero at the centre of it all.
Music carried the emotional arc. A stripped-back, John Lewis–esque acoustic version of It’s a Sin opens the film, before swelling into a full orchestral Christmas arrangement to bring the moment home without overpowering it.
The result is a film that commits fully to the idea and trusts the audience to pick a side.
The Result
The response was immediate and divided. Some viewers felt vindicated. Others were genuinely offended. Nobody felt neutral.
The film won The Drum Chip Shop Grand Prix, alongside Best Video, Best Use of Bad Taste and Ad Most Likely to Start a Riot. More importantly, it proved that brave, well-crafted ideas travel further than safe ones.
Sometimes, the most powerful thing you can do at Christmas is break a rule and let people argue about it.
Subtitle
Want a film like this?
As a specialist team of nimble creatives we’re uniquely positioned to move with the ebbs and flows of internal business demands
Subtitle
Dan Hills
Joe Sampson
Tom Staniford
30s Hero 16:9, 1:1, 9:16
Subtitle
Explore some of our similar projects:
