There’s no question that this is a case where the celebrity endorser really is a fan of the product.

There’s often quite a bit of suspension of disbelief that goes into celebrity endorsements. It’s hard to imagine, for example, Tommy Lee Jones whipping out a SoftBank cell phone when he needs to call his agent, or Leonardo DiCaprio hopping into a for-poor-people Suzuki to drive to his next A-lister party in Beverly Hills, but the Hollywood stars have indeed appeared in ads for those products in Japan.

However, Heinz Japan appears to have done its homework in approaching their newest pitchman, or perhaps we should say their newest pitch-mon, as they’re getting the nod of approval from none other than Pikachu.

When it comes to things to put in his tummy, the face of the Pokémon franchise has a long-established love of ketchup. He even made his character song debut singing from atop a giant ketchup bottle. So with Heinz being the world’s biggest ketchup maker, it’s a natural fit for them to collaborate with the world’s cutest ketchup fan, and in the process create the world’s cutest ketchup bottles.

On sale as of this month is a series of Pikachu-label Heinz bottles, oriented not only so that the contents will flow to the bottom, but that you’ll be able to admire Pikachu during your meal. There are three different designs, each evoking a different mood, and with ketchup being a staple condiment in many households, picking up the complete set feels like a pretty guilt-free plan for fans, especially at the price of 390 yen (US$2.50) per bottle.

For those wanting even more Pikachu cuteness in their home (and really, who doesn’t?), Heinz Japan will also be giving away special Pikachu Cheek Plates. The illustration on these Pikachu-shaped melamine resin dishes, measuring 20 centimeters (7.9 inches) across, have black circles for Pikachu’s ordinarily rosy cheeks, so that you can add the circles of color yourself with squirts of ketchup.

450 plates will be given away, with winners selected randomly from Twitter users who retweet the upcoming present campaign tweet from the official Heinz Japan account sometime between March 16 and 22. And if you’re looking for something special to use your Pikachu ketchup on, might we suggest a DIY Pikachu burger?

Related: Heinz Japan official Twitter account
Source, images: PR Times
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