Packaging

Ridna Mapka’s High Visibility Retail Presence

By Delphine Hirasuna |

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Designed by Yurko Gutsulvak in Kviv, Ukraine, the packaging for Ridna Mapka fruit juice line is noteworthy for its commanding retail shelf presence. The juice cartons have identical images front and back, with informational text printed on the flap ends. The wraparound graphics project a highly visible diamond-shape pattern when displayed side-by-side on store shelves.

For the packaging design, Gutsulvak aimed to suggest a nostalgic tone for Ridna Mapka (meaning “native brand”) to appeal to consumers who yearn for the authentic natural flavors of yesteryears. Featuring illustrations by Oleksij Volkov, the Ridna Mapka packaging evokes the style and feel of Russian design in the 1960s and 1970s. The retro look harkens to a time when fruit juices had the unadulterated taste of real fruit.
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Marketing

Adobe Marketing: The Launch

By Delphine Hirasuna |

Everything about this commercial for Adobe Marketing Cloud rings true, except for rerouting the spaceship to another part of the galaxy. Created by Goodby Silverstein & Partners for Adobe, this “Do You Know What Your Marketing Is Doing” ad campaign gives us an extreme look at what can happen when companies move warp speed ahead on their brand strategy before or while collecting, analyzing and understanding marketing data. Invariably reticent managers afraid to express their doubts about the chosen direction, do so at the very last minute when it dawns on them that they would be blamed for letting it go forward. Re-dos cause delays. Delays burn budgets, sometime to a crisp. One reason this TV spot is hilariously funny to so many in the marketing/design business is because it is painfully familiar. Such “war stories,” usually confessed in an inebriated state, abound. At some point, we’ve all been there. Gotta laugh so you don’t cry.

Advertising

Say It Isn’t So, Dos Equis!!!

By Delphine Hirasuna |

This is terrible news. Dos Equis is sending the “most interesting man in the world” on a one-way trip to Mars. On March 6, 2016, Dos Equis’s Amsterdam-based owner Heineken announced it was retiring the character played by actor Jonathan Goldsmith in favor of someone more appealing to millennials. This is in spite of the fact that Dos Equis beer sales have nearly tripled since the campaign was introduced in 2009. As portrayed by Goldsmith, the Dos Equis man is a blend of Ernest Hemingway, James Bond and Errol Flynn. He is dashing, nonchalantly fearless, at home in any situation and in any part of the world, charismatic, and open to adventures. The Dos Equis man ads, first created by EuroRSCG New York, elevated the lager from a regional brew, mostly known in Texas and California, to one of the world’s best-known brands. And it gave us one of the most memorable taglines: “I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis. Stay thirsty, my friend.”

Warning to Dos Equis: The next “most interesting man in the world” better not be some hip hop dude with tattoos up the ying yang, earrings, and ever-present cell phone, or a Justin Bieber type. If he is, some older fans will be throwing beer cans at their TV. Some of us are still thirsty for the current “most interesting man in the world.”

Film

“Loving Vincent” As Only True Artists Can

By Delphine Hirasuna |

The making of “Loving Vincent” is truly an act of love. Everything from its Kickstarter crowdfunding to eschewing CGI in favor of painstakingly painting every frame by hand makes this 80-minute film a monumental homage to the life of Vincent Van Gogh and to fine artists everywhere. Polish painter Dorota Kobriela and Oscar-winning British filmmaker Hugh Welchman of Breakthru Films began work on the world’s first feature-length painted animation in 2011, and with an infusion of Kickstarter funding are pushing forward to bring their labor of love to fruition. In an interview with Voice of America, Kobriela says they were inspired to undertake this project after reading Van Gogh’s letter to his brother saying that “we can only speak through our paintings.”

“Loving Vincent” integrates 120 of Van Gogh’s greatest paintings into a storyline pulled together from some 800 letters written by the artist in the latter years of his life. The film’s plot unfolds through “interviews” with characters closest to Van Gogh and through a dramatic reconstruction of events leading up to his sudden and still mysterious death.

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Packaging

Fort Point Beer Cans Depict San Francisco Landmarks

By Delphine Hirasuna |

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Those familiar with San Francisco’s landscape will recognize the iconic landmarks depicted on Fort Point Beer packaging. Those who aren’t will simply appreciate the packaging for its lovely minimalist design and smart, consistent execution. Designed by San Francisco-based Manual, the packaging is illustrated with geometric-line drawings of the undergirding of the Golden Gate Bridge, the rooftops of old Army barracks, the windmill in Golden Gate Park, the Ferry Building clock, the Alcatraz guard tower, and other well-known sites. Like scaffolding, the graphics form an arched frame around the Fort Point brand name, setting it apart.

San Francisco’s fastest-growing craft beer brand, Fort Point Brewery is located in San Francisco’s historic Presidio, now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The Presidio was originally built as a military outpost in 1776 when California was owned by Spain. It was subsequently occupied by the U.S. Army between 1846 and 1994.

The Fort Point Brewery, founded in 2014 by brothers Tyler and Justin Catalana, resides in an old Army motor pool building near Fort Point, which stands at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. The Fort was constructed at the entrance to San Francisco Bay just before the Civil War, circa 1854, to keep the California gold fields from falling into rebel hands — just a few historical factoids to reflect on while enjoying a can of Fort Point beer.

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