For the 95th Saudi National Day, Heinz set out to create a tribute powered entirely by the voices of the people. Instead of producing another branded message, the brand built a platform where Saudis could express their identity through dialect, accent and regional pride. Partnering with Anghami, Heinz invited people from across the Kingdom’s 13 regions to record messages of Saudi Arabia in their own voices.
To root the idea in something tangible, Heinz released 13 limited-edition ketchup and mayonnaise bottles – each one reflecting the motifs, dialects and cultures of a specific region. Through a QR code printed on every pack, fans could submit voice notes directly to a custom Anghami microsite. Messages from Jeddah to Riyadh, Abha to AlUla were later woven together using Anghami’s AI-enabled voice compilation tools, forming a people-powered anthem made for Saudis, by Saudis.
As Passant El Ghannam, Head of Marketing, Kraft Heinz MEA, shared, “Saudi Arabia is far from a homogenous culture … each region has its own dialect, traditions and nuances.”
Insight and Strategy
At the heart of the campaign was a simple cultural insight: celebrating Saudi identity meant celebrating its differences. Rather than relying on a single national message, Heinz leaned into the country’s regional diversity – treating dialects, accents and local expressions as cultural assets that could bring people together.
The strategy was built around creating an activation that felt genuinely personal. By using packaging to reflect the Kingdom’s 13 regions, and inviting people to record messages in their own dialects, the brand positioned itself as a facilitator of pride rather than a narrator of it. This approach particularly resonated with younger Saudis, who seek authentic, interactive and shareable experiences.
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El Ghannam explained that “this year’s campaign gave Saudis a platform to express their love for the Kingdom, turning the brand into a conduit for national pride.” She added that “each limited-edition label represented one of the 13 regions… allowing people to connect with Heinz through a design, and a dialect, that felt personal to them.”
While the activation was primarily created for Saudis, expats also submitted messages – their voices included in the final anthem as “a unified celebration of the Kingdom’s diversity.”
According to Heinz, culturally rooted, participatory storytelling builds stronger emotional connection than traditional brand-led communications.
“When brands give Saudis a genuine platform to participate, they respond with overwhelming enthusiasm and generosity,” said, El Ghannam, adding that “authenticity and cultural understanding are the strongest drivers of engagement.”
Bringing the campaign to life
The campaign launched in the first week of September, timed to lead into Saudi National Day, and ran as a 360° rollout combining digital innovation, in-store experiences, influencer-led storytelling and outdoor media.
The limited-edition ketchup and mayo bottles were launched for sale across the Kingdom, where consumers could scan the QR code and share their message for the anthem. In flagship stores, shoppers could also have bottles personalised by a calligrapher – an activation aimed at grounding the digital idea in a physical keepsake.
The Saudi National Day anthem was also amplified it across social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Anghami.
The brand also collaborated with Saudi creators such as Saeed Alwahbi, Nayla Jaad, May Dodda, Abdullah Jaber and Khalid Assiri, who received a special Saudi National Day box that featured the 13 varieties representing the Saudi regions. The creators then documented their unboxing and submissions to the anthem, demonstrating how the experience worked and inspiring their audience to take part in the same.
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“They shared heartfelt submissions expressing their love and pride for the Kingdom, inspiring their audiences to take part,” said, El Ghannam.
After the engagement phase, OOH installations across Riyadh and Jeddah amplified the final anthem. MUPIs featured lines and messages derived from the collective voices, bringing user-generated sentiment back into public space.
Results
The campaign attracted strong engagement, with 240 Saudis submitting voice messages. Of these, 31 voices were selected for the final anthem, which premiered on Anghami. Demand for the bottles was equally strong, with 41,000 limited-edition packs sold.
Heinz and Anghami also launched a dedicated playlist, ‘95th Saudi National Day by Heinz’, which accumulated 200,326 streams, reached 20,764 unique listeners, and kept audiences engaged for an average of 20 minutes per day.
According to El Ghannam, Heinz recorded strong commercial and cultural traction during the campaign period, with market share for Tomato Ketchup rising by 1.6 percentage points compared with the same period last year, and Mayo achieving a record uplift of 2.1 points.
The people-powered anthem also performed well on Anghami’s charts, placing third in the Top Arabic (Saudi) list, second in Top Khaleeji, and third in the Top Saudi category – an indication of how widely the campaign resonated across audiences in the Kingdom.
In terms of engagement, the campaign generated high participation across platforms, driven by the emotional nature of voice submissions and the pride attached to regional representation.
The combination of user-generated content, packaging localisation and music creation helped position Heinz as a brand that listens rather than speaks.
Credits
Client – Kraft Heinz:
Yomna El Gabry, Head of Marketing GCC & South Africa
Baher Arafat, Media Lead, MEA
Mostafa Ragaie, Marketing Manager, KSA
Creative Agency – FP7 McCann:
Samer Alhussein – Business Director
Ibrahim Shawkat – Account Director
Perla Lahoud – Senior Account Executive
Rasha Al Husseini – Account Executive
Ramzi Ibrahim – Executive Creative Director
Alaa Ghazzi – Executive Creative Director
Amine Naim – Associate Creative Director
Patrick Sawaya – Art Director
Yaqoub Hammad – Arabic Copywriter
Ramzi Melki – Multimedia Designer
Patrick Alkfoury – Multimedia Designer
Media Agency – Carat:
Sanaa Nassar – Media Director
Manar Samad – Associate Media Director
Sarah Elia – Integrated Media Planner Executive
Mark Khalil – Performance Executive
PR Agency – Current Global MENAT:
Jude Lahham – Account Director
Riya Awtaney – Account Manager
Aastha Chaurasia – Senior Associate
