Heinz Reprises its Ketchup Packet Design Contest

The H. J. Heinz Co. is at it again, calling on grade-school students to create designs for its Heinz Ketchup packets.

The Ketchup Creativity Contest is for students in grades one through 12 and has produced some colorful and fun images in the past. The promo runs through Feb. 28.

New this year, pop artist Burton Morris will be one of the judges and will provide tips online for both students and teachers. He presence as part of the promo is expected to help draw even more interest from entrants than previous years.

Also for the first time, the general populous will be encourage to vote online from March 20 through March 25 to help choose 12 grand-prize winners.

At the site, Heinz has included some grade-specific lessons for teachers that stress healthy eating.

“Through programs like this, we try to provide value-added marketing programs to schools, while also strengthening our relationships with consumers, Laura Reiser, associate brand manager for Heinz Ketchup, said.

The winners will have their artwork reproduced on approximately 19.5 million Heinz Ketchup packets — more than 200 million combined, and displayed online at the Web site in the winners’ gallery. The students also each will receive a $1,000 cash prize. The winning schools will receive $1,000 toward art supplies, $1,000 worth of Heinz Ketchup and a framed poster of the winner’s artwork.

Since Heinz ran the promotion for the first time in 2006, tens of thousands of entries have been submitted.
More than 16,000 students entered the first contest in 2006 – 2007 and more than 14,500 entered the 2007 – 2008 contest, Reiser said.

“We measure the success of programs like the Heinz Ketchup Creativity Contest by our ability to continue to engage with our consumers and build positive relationships with those who participate in the contest,” she said.

This year’s winners will be announced on or around March 31.