Sorry, "Weiner Stampede" fans. Heinz Ketchup, makers of last year's much-loved, dachshund-filled Super Bowl commercial, is sitting out this year's game. But it's not completely disconnecting from Super Bowl weekend.
The brand today launches a grassroots campaign to get the Monday after the Super Bowl—when everyone is a bit cranky, or even calling in sick to work, after a night of partying—to be declared a national holiday.
The brand has started an official Change.org petition to "make Monday more like Sunday." The new holiday, Heinz says, should be "Smunday."
This comical video explains further:
This isn't the first time a brand has proposed this. Coke Zero did the same thing in 2012.
"The inspiration came from a conversation people have been having for years," Nicole Kulwicki, head of the Heinz brand, admits to Adweek. "Here at Heinz, we are all about never settling when it comes to taste or quality of condiments, and never settling when it comes to the day after one of the best sports days of the year."
Yes, a push for a national holiday the day after the Super Bowl is goofy and tongue-in-cheek. But Kulwicki says the brand is committed to trying to make it happen. The goal is to get 100,000 signatures on the petition.
"That's how many we think we need to get Congress to take us seriously," she says. "We're doing this in good fun, but with the intent that it will actually become a national holiday."
To signal the company's commitment to the cause, all employees at Kraft Heinz offices in the U.S. will be given Feb. 6 off this year.
"Wiener Stampede," by David Miami, was the No. 2 spot on 2016's USA Today Ad Meter. But despite that success, Kulwicki says the brand wanted to go in a different direction.
"We loved 'Wiener Stampede' as well," she says. "It was a great way for us to introduce the full Heinz Ketchup family. This year we're doing something different. We're always looking for ways to connect with our consumers. This is a cause that we felt that the American public feels strongly about. And we really wanted to rally behind that effort."
The video above will be shared digitally; there is no TV buy.
The campaign was created by agencies David Miami, Starcom, PureRED | Ferrara and Alison Brod Marketing + Communications.
For more Super Bowl LI news, check out Adweek's Super Bowl Ad Tracker, an up-to-date list of the brands running Super Bowl spots and the agencies involved in creating them.
CREDITS
Client: Heinz
VP of Marketing: Michelle St Jacques
Brand Director: Nicole Kulwicki
Brand Manager: Melissa Casey
Agency: David Miami
Chief Creative Officer, Founder: Anselmo Ramos
Managing Director: Paulo Fogaça
Creative Director: Russell Dodson
Creative Director: Tony Kalathara
Design Director: Carlos Lange
Art Director: Curtis Caja
Copywriter: Ian Holmes
Group Account Director: Michelle Cobas
Account Director: Carlos Rangel
Account Supervisor: Rafael Giorgino
Director of Strategic Planning: Jon Carlaw
Head of Global Production: Veronica Beach
Producer: Carlos Torres
Business Manager: Barbara Karalis
Production Company: B-Reel Films
Director: Simon Cole
Co-Founder/COO - Pelle Nilsson
Managing Director/Executive Producer - Michael McQuhae
Executive Producer - Jason Botkin
Head of Sales /Executive Producer - Bryan Farhy
Head of Production - Kelly Martin
Producer - Rachel North
Editing: Cut and Run
Executive Producer: Amburr Farls
Editor: Jay Nelson
Post Producer: Emilie Talermo
Assistant Editor: Eli Beck-Gifford
Music/Final Audio: Beacon Street Studios
Executive Producer: Adrea Lavezzoli
Music/Final Audio: Beacon Street Studios / Vapor Post
Executive Producer: Adrea Lavezzoli
Mixer: Jose Toldeo
Online: Jogger
Executive Producer: Rich Rama
Flame Artist: David Parker
Color: Apache
Producer: Stefanie Schaldenbrand
Colorist: Taylor Black
PR Agency: Alison Brod Marketing + Communications
Media agency: Starcom
Digital agency: PureRED|Ferrara