Heinz Canada has built a back-to-school promotion around its iconic ketchup brand, part of the manufacturer’s newly adopted strategy of aggressively marketing its flagship condiment to kids.

On Aug. 16, Heinz teamed up with McCain Foods and athletic shoe retailer Foot Locker to create the Back to School Cool campaign, a cross-promotion that gives consumers a Foot Locker coupon with every purchase of Heinz Ketchup and McCain Superfries or Homefries.

Typically, back-to-school specials have been the sole dominion of fashion retailers, stationery stores, and more recently, computer sellers. When packaged goods manufacturers do take aim at students, it’s usually to promote some sort of cheese ‘n cracker-style lunchbox item – not a family-sized bottle of squeezable ketchup.

But in recent months, Heinz has changed its tune – quite literally, in fact. It abandoned Carly Simon’s Anticipation, whose mawkish sentiments seduced the adult ketchup consumer some years ago, and decided to focus its global advertising efforts on teens and tweens. In addition to wielding enormous purchasing influence in the household, youngsters are also voracious consumers of ketchup. According to Heinz’s research, children aged six to 12 are the biggest connoisseurs, followed by teens between 12 and 18.

‘We have targeted the teen market before in Canada, but this is a more direct approach,’ Anna Relyea, a spokesperson for Heinz Canada, says of the promotion.

Zeppelin Communications, a Toronto-based agency, developed the creative and strategy behind Back to School Cool, which includes six weeks of television as well as point-of-purchase material in supermarkets and Foot Locker locations.

The TV spots, which feature a young character named ‘Little Jay,’ may be a segue of sorts as Heinz prepares to move into the tween-focused component of its global campaign. The tween advertising is currently in the works, although Relyea would not confirm when it would be launched.

Last April, Heinz made its first pitch for the teen market with an international television campaign created by the global team at Leo Burnett (the Chicago, Toronto, and London offices). Although the creative was developed in Chicago, Canada became the first country to air the spots, since its size and consumption patterns – Heinz enjoys a 65% share of the Canadian ketchup market – make it something of an ideal testing ground.

Three new television spots, created exclusively for the Canadian market, have just finished shooting in Chicago, and are expected to debut in early September, says Kristi Karens, an account director at Leo Burnett in Toronto. Although they are being developed for Canada, certain packaging elements were included in the spots to allow them to roll out in other markets, says Karens.