A Heinz consumer got quite the surprise when he entered a ketchup contest.
The man used the QR code on the back of a Heinz ketchup bottle to enter the company's online contest in Germany. But the Heinz website had expired -- and a XXX-rated site had taken its place.
"Heinz in Germany has apologized for the way in which an out-of-date QR code and website link to design a ketchup label in 2014 has been reassigned to an adult content web site," said Michael Mullen, senior vice president of Corporate & Government Affairs at Heinz, in an email to CNNMoney.
"Clearly this was never our intention and we are taking steps to avoid this from re-occurring," added the spokesman for Heinz, which is partly owned by Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA).
The consumer, Daniel Korell, posted photos on Facebook (FB) of the bottle with the QR code next to his smartphone depicting the porn site FunDorado, which specializes in live web cam girls. FunDorado public relations did not return a message, but it did have a Facebook message for Korell:
"Hello Daniel Korell, wow! Has Heinz perhaps confused FunDorado's Sexy Lila with its Lila Ketchup EZ Squirt? However, you won't of course be going away empty handed. We're giving you a year's free access to FunDorado.com."
