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Anden Sutter

Mr. Catron

AP Language and Composition

11 May 2025

Growing Trust Through Tomatoes: A Visual Analysis of Appeals to a Mother’s Care for Her

Children in a Heinz Advertisement

Over one year, Heinz uses over 2 million tons of tomatoes to produce its ketchup, making

them the largest buyer of tomatoes globally. This has created a large debate over the nutrition of

condiments such as ketchup, and in 1981, President Reagan attempted to rule ketchup as a

vegetable in school lunches. This failed though, as many people have a much worse view

towards condiments, not seeing them as a healthy substitute. In an advertisement online and in

newspapers, Heinz depicts a bottle of ketchup made up of real tomatoes, with their slogan easily

visible. The advertisement from Heinz appeals to a parent's–typically mothers–concerns about

the food they feed their children. Using appeals to freshness as well as a contrast of artificial vs

natural, bold colors, and a contradictory catch phrase, Heinz soothes the doubts of parents buying

ketchup for their children, helping them feel as though they are making the right decision.

Heinz uses a multitude of methods and materials by using real tomatoes, specifically the

appeals to freshness and natural ingredients, as well as color. The advertisement’s main focal

point is made up of tomatoes, standing out from the blank background. Not only do the tomatoes

stand out from the bland background, but they are not perfectly uniform and lined up, giving the

stack more character, differentiating it from the rest of the advertisement. The non-symmetrical

shape and imperfections of the stack reinforce the idea that Heinz is real and all tomatoes used

are 100% natural and healthy. Not only does the stack stand out and waver in consistency, but it
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staggers in height. The perspective of the advertisement makes the stack giant - taking up nearly

the whole height of the advertisement. Heinz does this to emphasize the impact and importance

of tomatoes, making them the identity of the brand. Many mothers would kill for their kids to eat

something healthy as the tomatoes pictured. Even further, plenty of mothers long to have their

own gardens to support their own healthy aspirations. The advertisement forms a thought in a

mother’s brain, wishing they had the time and energy to grow their own food and craft beautiful

home-made meals. In a way, Heinz uses fresh tomatoes in the advertisement to create a sense of

jealousy from parents who can only dream of providing such a meal that would also be well

received by their children. This jealousy forms respect from the parents towards Heinz, as they

recognize that Heinz does everything a mother wishes they could, just in the form of one simple

and convenient product. Overall, Heinz shows to the concerned mother that they are simply a

company of tomatoes, growing and crafting them to a healthy perfection.

Once Heinz has established the understanding of tomatoes within the company, they

move to the wider scope, the fact that the tower of tomatoes actually makes up a ketchup bottle.

They prove that the tomatoes not only make up the bottle based on shape in the image, but in its

ingredients. Working up the bottle from the bottom, Heinz makes themselves well known with

their label, boasting their 57 different varieties, along with their date of establishment. Both of

these earn further respect from the parents. Heinz must know what they’re doing since they’ve

been around since 1869 and can support 57 different products. The trust that many others have

placed in Heinz over the years helps alleviate a mom’s concerns about ketchup being unhealthy

or that she’s being too lazy for her kids, providing a sense of comfort in serving Heinz. The

advertisement then makes the connection between the tomatoes forming the shape of a ketchup

bottle to the tomatoes being the main ingredient within the bottle. Parents know, without even
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looking at the contents of the ketchup bottle, that fresh and healthy tomatoes are going into the

product

Move two—but they’r not “really” tomatoes, it’s a ketchup bottle. (Talk about the Heinz label

and logo (a trusted company, an American company, then transfer the healthy, fresh, ideas from

Move 1 into the ketchup.

Move three—discuss the slogan.

Authors Note

This essay is moving into its later stages, as it is the second full draft, but is still a little

rough around the edges. I feel as though the overall argument of the essay is more defined and

coming together now. I also think that this visual analysis has been better than some of my other

attempts, but I still feel like there are things that I’m missing.

The largest issues that I have had while writing this essay has been avoiding repeating

myself and sort of writing in a circle. I know that the main point should always be the main focus

and the language should appear throughout, but I feel like a lot of areas might say the same

things with different words. With this …

●​ Are there areas that are overly repetitive throughout the essay?

●​ The trick here is going to be organization. The ad is straightforward—think of our

ketchup as natural, healthy, fruits and vegetables! The trick, is how to write about

it in a way that doesn’t give too much away too soon or bury the lead so far down

your audience feels misled.

●​ I might approach the essay like this:

○​ Move one—analyze the stack of tomatoes as if they are tomatoes, forget

about the ketchup. Talk about how the audience wants her kids to eat more

fresh fruit and veg, about the uniformity of the slices, the height of the

stack—this not only a healthy food, its artfully prepared. Oh if only my

kids would eat veggies. If only I had the time to garden and prepare

beautiful and interesting meals.

○​ Move two—but they’r not “really” tomatoes, it’s a ketchup bottle. (Talk

about the Heinz label and logo (a trusted company, an American company,

then transfer the healthy, fresh, ideas from Move 1 into the ketchup.

○​ Move three—discuss the slogan.

●​ The essay could go in the other direction—start with the slogan. And a “what?”

Grows Ketchup? Then focus on what Heinz is known for—preservatives and

condiments 57 varieties, established in the 1860’s—while not “junk” food, Heinz

is famous for making “processed” foods. That was their mission, originally. To

make shelf-stable sauces to save people time in food prep and to extend the life of

preserved foods. Then end with the “but it’s really tomatoes.”

●​ I am slightly over the word count and have no conclusion, so what do you think I

should cut out? Is it mainly just unnecessary words like ‘as’?

●​ Restructuring will help—then each move can address different effects, this should

cut down on the redundancy. You might have to shorten some of your

commentary.

●​ Is my audience clear, consistent, and does it make sense with the advertisement?

●​ Yes. Doing well.

Have fun,​

Happy writing,

Mr. C
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Anden Sutter

Mr. Catron

AP Language and Composition

4 May 2025

Growing Trust Through Tomatoes: A Visual Analysis of the Heinz Advertising Campaign

Over one year, Heinz uses over 2 million tons of tomatoes to produce its ketchup, making

them the largest buyer of tomatoes globally. In an advertisement online and in newspapers, Heinz

depicts a bottle of ketchup made up of real tomatoes, with their slogan easily visible. The

advertisement from Heinz utilizes appeals to freshness as well as a contrast of artificial vs

natural, bold colors, and a contradictory catch phrase to soothe the doubts of mothers buying

ketchup for their children, and make them feel as though they are making the right decision.

Heinz uses an appeal to freshness through the images of real tomato slices making up the

shape of a Heinz ketchup bottle. The shape gives away that the advertisement is for a ketchup

bottle, but also goes beyond this and shows that the product is real and made of actual

ingredients. The audience of mothers with young children is assured by this aspect of the

advertisement, as the nutritional value seems much better than typically believed. The use of real

tomatoes appeals to the health priorities of a mother and her children.

Many kids are picky with what they eat, so finding anything that can

resemble a fruit or vegetable is difficult for their moms who preparing

meals. The advertisement from Heinz recognizes this and uses the

tomatoes to resonate with the struggling mothers, creating a

healthy-seeming food that kids are willing to eat. The ketchup may not

be healthy like a tomato, but through the use of real tomatoes, Heinz gets as close as they can,
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leading to a win for the kids' nutrition and the moms' struggle to find food their child will eat.

The stem of a tomato at the top of the bottle helps add to this metaphor of natural ingredients. It

provides another reassurance that the tomatoes are fresh from a garden. This is because the stem

gives a feeling of freshness, as if the tomato is straight out of the garden and had just been picked

when the advertisement was made. The appeal to freshness and real ingredients yet

again supports the struggling mother who just wants her kids to eat something that

resembles a healthy vegetable. Another example of Heinz’s use of natural vs. artificial

can be seen in the imperfection of the shape of the bottle. The tomatoes are all slightly

off center and staggered in a way that keeps the general shape of a ketchup bottle, yet

isn’t perfect. The out-of-balance bottle shape is a reference to the fact that Heinz ketchup uses

real tomatoes and products, and imperfection shows reality. Heinz does this to imply to mothers

that they do not need to be perfect. Nobody is. Their imperfection in the view of the

advertisement is their use of ketchup rather than real tomatoes for their kids, so Heinz comforts

this conflict of interest through the imperfect advertisement. In all, Heinz utilizes the contrast

between artificial and natural with appeals to freshness in order to assure parents they are making

the right decision by buying Heinz products.

Adding to Heinz’s appeals to freshness and natural vs artificial metaphors, the

advertisement makes use of a strong color scheme. While there are not a lot of colors present, the

bold red becomes a symbol of the company itself. The color red is very well known for grabbing

one’s emotional feelings, yet in the advertisement, red also means tomatoes. Again, Heinz finds a

way to make the person viewing the advertisement think of fresh tomatoes, pushing the

concerned brain of a tired mother away from concerns of preservatives and unnecessary sugars.

The deep red represents the ripe and juicy tomatoes that a mother would want to be used,
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especially in ketchup, reassuring mothers that the ketchup is superior to competitors, despite

their concerns. The green of the stem also plays into this. Green is a sign of nature and growth.

Green is the only other color in the advertisement other than red, that isn’t the simple white or

black, making it stand out and be appealing even though there is not a lot of it. Once more, Heinz

goes back to their ideals of freshness that catch the eye of any sensible person concerned with

their wellbeing or the wellbeing of those they care for, building up a trusting customer

relationship. They set themselves apart from the pack, proving Heinz cares not only about their

ketchup, but the people they serve. On top of that, the colors of the advertisement carry an

emotional weight that goes deeper than the surface. Red in the advertisement is not only about

tomatoes but also about relationships and their passion. The color red symbolizes passion and

excitement, so by having the background color be a deep red, Heinz employs a sense of caring

both about the quality of both the ketchup and the quality of the consumer’s life. A mother

shopping for her kids looks for this, as they want something and someone behind the product that

they can trust and know is doing the right thing. A similar thing can be said for green, the color

of nature, and calming. In the advertisement, green leans more towards nature, yet the calming

effect it has can still be used to free one of their worries over buying a tomato-based product

instead of real tomatoes. Ultimately, color throughout the advertisement has a major influence on

both the attitude of its viewers alongside the overall values of Heinz’s company and the quality

of the product.

In addition to natural appeal and the use of bold colors, Heinz incorporates a

contradictory catch phrase at the top of the advertisement. The statement reads, “No one grows

ketchup like Heinz.” Ketchup is not grown, but instead is manufactured and

not 100% real. This relates yet again back to the artificial vs natural argument
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that the company repeatedly makes, as they reinforce that they use real and fresh ingredients.

This is done with the purpose of setting themselves apart from the competition, but doing so in a

way that is calm and not cocky. They make themselves the best, and also build relationships at

the same time, proving that they can be trusted amongst their consumers. Even further, Heinz

uses the word “grows,” sympathizing with the process of motherhood. Heinz grows and raises

their ketchup with the same care that a mother nurtures their children, putting health and family

above all.

Works Cited?
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Anden Sutter

Mr. Catron

AP Language and Composition

14 April 2025

Real Products?: An Analysis of Heinz Ketchup Advertisement

The advertisement from Heinz utilizes appeals to freshness as well as a contrast of artificial vs

natural, bold colors, and a contradictory catch phrase in order to persuade potential customers

into believing that their ketchup is the best and far superior to other brands.

​ Heinz uses an appeal to freshness through the images of real tomato slices making up the

shape of a Heinz ketchup bottle. This shows that the product is obviously tomato-based, giving

the product a true identity, but it also shows the freshness of their ketchup compared to others.

The use of real tomatoes in the advertisement forces their consumer audience, likely adults, to

consider the ingredients used, realizing that Heinz uses their own freshly grown tomatoes in their

ketchup. The reason of this is to create a sense of reality and naturalness in their product that is

oftentimes seen as an artificial byproduct of a tomato. The stem of a tomato plant seen at the top

of the bottle also shows the true natural use of tomatoes and implies that they are “home” grown

by Heinz. The stem implies that they have tomato plants that were used to make the specific

tomato slices used in the advertisement. Along with this, the tomato slices are not lined up or

shaped perfectly in order to keep this sense of freshness and a natural feeling in the

advertisement. Had the tomatoes been aligned perfectly and looked exactly the same as a bottle,

then the advertisement would look like a complete lie and be totally unnatural. Through the

staggered tomatoes and imperfect design, the consumer feels as though the ketchup is more

natural, leading to them favoring Heinz over other ketchup brands. Overall, Heinz creates a
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separation between artificial and natural in order to set themselves apart from the rest of the

industry.

​ Along with appealing to freshness through the use of real tomatoes, Heinz uses bold and

natural colors throughout the advertisement in order to stand out and show nature in their

product. The background was chosen to be red, the same color as the bottle, because it is not

only the company colors, but red is often associated with passion and love. This makes the image

feel warm and gives a sense of caring from the brand. The red makes the consumer feel as

though the product is important and truly made by people who care and want to provide the best

possible product. On top of the red background, green is used throughout the advertisement as

well in order to portray a natural feel. Green is often associated with nature and plants, so the

green lettering and stem relate back to the appeal to nature and non-artificial products.

​ In addition to natural appeal and the use of bold colors, Heinz incorporates a

contradictory catch phrase at the top of the advertisement. The statement that reads, “No one

grows ketchup like Heinz,” completely contradicts itself as ketchup is obviously not grown, but

instead is manufactured and not 100% real. This relates yet again back to the artificial vs natural

argument that the company repeatedly makes, as they reinforce that they grow their own

tomatoes. By implying that they use these tomatoes, it is also implied that the ketchup is made of

real ingredients and is of much higher quality than all other brands.