Advertising 2.0 -- Heinz Launches User-Generated Content Campaign

http://www.topthistv.com/images/logo_new.gifThe newest thing for manufacturers today is brand engagement, pulling new consumers in and building a rich media relationship with them. The newest thing for these consumers is creating their own content, whether in media, audio or video. In an interesting confluence of the two, global manufacturer Heinz recently announced an online, print and in-store packaging campaign to allow users to get creative with its labels. "If the old model was to spend money on TV advertising to get people to go to the store to pick up a bottle, the new one is to ask consumers to generate TV ads for us," says Smith Brothers ad agency director Michael Bollinger. The new campaign's main component is the "Top This! TV Challenge" which asks consumers to create their own TV ad for the brand and post it online to be voted on. According to communications industry portal MediaPost, Heinz created nine different bottle labels, using phrases such as "Hungry for Fame?" and "Starving for the Spotlight?" to drive consumers to the online contest. All told, 57 million customized bottles were distributed, along with 200 million tailored ketchup packets dispersed throughout the food-service industry. The Web site was additionally promoted via full-page ads in The New York Times and USA Today, along with a custom YouTube site, where more than 1200 videos currently reside. A final set of labels will launch this fall, once all submissions are uploaded, inviting shoppers back to TopThisTV.com to vote for their favorite spots. Winning ads will be televised nationwide and the winner also receives a cash prize of -- drumroll please -- $57,000 (which isn't bad for something that many online users are doing anyways as idle amusement...)