Heinz adopts rejected 'Pass the Heinz' campaign from 'Mad Men'

March 14 (UPI) -- Kraft Heinz has adopted an ad campaign created by fictional markerter Don Draper from the AMC series Mad Men.

The company will run a campaign for Heinz Ketchup including three New York billboards and ads in two print publications that will feature food items such as hamburgers, steak and french fries without the aforementioned condiments alongside the phrase "Pass the Heinz."

Draper, played by actor Jon Hamm, and his fictional 1960s Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce pitched a nearly identical "Pass the HEINZ" campaign on Mad Men that was ultimately rejected.

"We were having a couple of old-fashioned cocktails with Don Draper and he just gave us the files," Anselmo Ramos creative officer and founder at David Miami, the agency behind the real life ad said.

Credit for the campaign will be shared among David Miami, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce and Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner, who approved the idea.

"What we love about it is that even though Don Draper created the 'Pass the Heinz' campaign almost 50 years ago, the communication still really works and resonates today," Nicole Kulwicki, head of the Heinz brand at Kraft Heinz said. "The creative execution itself and what we love about it is that it really doesn't require paragraphs of copy to explain it. Really all that's missing is the Heinz."

Heinz was not involved with the episode that spawned the idea four years ago but has decided to collaborate with the show to celebrate its 10th anniversary.

"The idea is timeless," Kulwicki said.