Heinz taps China’s National Games with a tomato twist
By Staff on Wednesday, November 12, 2025
When the 15th National Games kicked off across Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, all eyes in China turned to sport.
Heinz saw an opening — not as a sponsor, but as a savvy participant in the cultural moment.
While the ketchup brand isn’t officially tied to the Games, it teamed up with creative agency Heaven & Hell Shanghai to tap into the national energy.
At the heart of the campaign is a clever visual device: the five leaflets of a tomato, arranged to resemble a human form.
Their angle? A visual conceptual link celebrating and linking athletic performance and tomato quality.
From there, the agency developed 34 tomato characters, each styled in the likeness of a sport featured at the Games.
Rhythmic gymnastics, basketball, judo — all reimagined in tomato form.
The line tying it together: “Every tomato that strives to win is in Heinz.”
The campaign dropped on November 9 to coincide with the Games’ opening.
It’s been pushed across high-traffic locations in Guangdong — from high-speed rail stations to elevator screens — and social platforms like Xiaohongshu, aiming to stir organic sharing.
