Heinz kicks off NFL deal by inducting 57th draft pick into new club

Dive Brief:

Heinz today, April 21, announced a citywide out-of-home effort around the upcoming NFL Draft as part of Kraft Heinz’s status as the league’s inaugural global condiment partner, per details shared with Marketing Dive.
Heinz will plaster its hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — the location of the 2026 draft, —with over 150 billboards, spanning from the Pittsburgh International Airport to the area surrounding one of the draft’s venues, Acrisure Stadium. A pop-up experience will support the push.
The OOH effort is part of a larger campaign from Heinz surrounding the draft — specifically the 57th draft pick, in a nod to the “57” on Heinz Ketchup packaging — that includes a partnership with NFL legend Devin Hester and a tie-up with Uber Eats.

Dive Insight:

Heinz is introducing the world to the first member of its so-called “Mr. 57” club during the 2026 NFL Draft, which will be held April 23-25 in Pittsburgh, in what the brand is calling a new draft tradition. The activation comes after the Kraft Heinz Company entered into a five-year contract with the league. The agreement includes brands Heinz, Kraft, Velveeta, Philadelphia and more in an effort to expand Kraft Heinz’s Away From Home food service business and retail opportunities.

In order to generate further hype and attention about the pick, the marketer is teaming up with the 57th pick of the 2006 NFL Draft and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Devin Hester to present the player with a custom jacket and lifetime supply of ketchup. A pop-up, the Taste of Pittsburgh at Draft Experience, will build local hype for the event with sauce stations, photo opportunities and exclusive merchandise. To expand the campaign’s reach, Uber Eats will offer consumers nationwide $25 off their orders from Heinz Verified restaurants, which are restaurants that exclusively serve Heinz.

Heinz out-of-home ad — The Three Rivers barge will count down each draft selection leading up to the 57th pick.

Courtesy of Kraft Heinz

The latest effort from Heinz was done in partnership with Wieden+Kennedy New York, with paid media by Carat, PR by Zeno Group, creator support by QYOU, talent partnerships with Genesco and social support from Kraft Heinz’s in-house agency, The Kitchen.

Live sports, and the NFL specifically, continue to be a load-bearing pillar for ad-supported TV. In the fourth quarter of 2025, nearly 30% of all ad-supported TV viewership came from sports, according to Nielsen research. Super Bowl LX amassed 125.6 million viewers across platforms.

The Kraft Heinz Company saw a fourth quarter revenue of $6.35 billion, a 3.38% year-over-year decrease, according to an earnings transcript. The company hopes to increase its marketing and sales headcount to better implement marketing initiatives, per executives.

Heinz isn’t the only marketer who has entered into a new sponsorship agreement with the league ahead of the 2026 season. In early April, U.S. Bank announced a multiyear partnership with the league. The agreement makes the brand the official bank and wealth management sponsor of the NFL.