Heinz turned a pack of stampeding dachshunds into hot dogs for its Super Bowl advert
Pet animals are rarely used to sell human food products, but Heinz has taken the unconventional step in its Super Bowl 50 advert, which it released on Friday.
Picture the scene: Dozens of dachshunds with disconcertingly realistic-looking hot dog costumes charge across a green field, to the tune of Harry Nilsson's '70s hit "Without You." Waiting expectantly are seven hungry-looking humans dressed up in ketchup and mustard bottles. As the army of tiny dogs approaches and the humans start to look scared, it becomes unclear if the humans will eat the dogs or the dogs will eat the humans.
Fortunately, neither scenario happens and the sandwiched dogs end up befriending the people in condiment costumes.
"It was certainly something that required quite a bit of orchestration in terms of having dozens of wiener dogs," Heinz marketing vice president Michelle St. Jacques told Mashable (where we first spotted the ad.) "We had to make sure we got them all running in the right direction."
The advert is part of the wider "Meet the Ketchups" campaign, intended to inform people that ketchup is more than just tomato sauce.
The video will be cut to 30-seconds for the big game.