Packaging. It can make or break your product. I find that packaging is important in many products, but particularly wine bottles. Most people would not consider themselves wine connoisseurs, just people who want a nice adult beverage to accompany their meal. For these people, packaging can be everything. Packaging means your product stays off the shelves. Here are some of my favorites –
This bottle was designed by Emily Hale as a tribute to the late Harvey Milk. The half full milk bottle is a representation of Harvey’s persistent positive outlook and attitude towards life. The wine is a Cabernet Sauvignon.
This bottle was designed by Rethink and is part of a series of Cabernet labels created by them. The other labels feature all different kinds of tables including ping pong, poker, pool, and more.
Living in the South, you will inevitably come to love some hole in the wall, middle of nowhere, run by an old married couple barbecue joint. They always have the best food, and there’s never a wait. There are a few places like this in my hometown, and I love driving down a road and seeing an sign or restaurant that reminds me of one of these places.
There’s absolutely nothing like home, but a good ole’ barbecue place with great fixin’s and lots of sauce can run a close second.
Companies shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars for a great logo. The idea is to create a memory stamp that will stay with a consumer forever. An instant connection between the visual logo and the brand is the ultimate goal. Having a logo that has lasted and been recognizable for almost one hundred years is a huge accomplishment. Planters has done just this with their lovable Mr. Peanut. Mr. Peanut was created in 1916 by 14 year old Antonio Gentile. Gentile submitted his drawing of a peanut with stick arms and stick crossed legs in a Planters logo contest. His “Mr. Peanut” won the grand prize and became the new logo for the company. Gentile was paid… drum roll, please… five whole dollars!! Even with inflation considered, that’s only $103.65! Not bad for a logo that’s lasted as long as Mr. Peanut. A commercial artist was hired to add the signature monocle, top hat, and cane that sets Mr. Peanut above all other nuts. He’s a classy nut, not like the rest of us. The logo has evolved over the years — becoming less realistic and more cartoon like . Planters also added the name Mr. Peanut to his top hat.
Mr. Peanut truly is a historic peanut. In 1918, Planters ran an advertisement in the Saturday Post, the first ever advertisement for a salted peanut. During World War II, Mr. Peanut even helped to promote war saving stamps. The first TV commercials featuring the dapper nut aired in the 50′s. Mr. Peanut is a staple in the nut world even today, and he’s looking better than ever. In 2011, he still sports his monocle, top hat, gloves, tuxedo shoes, and cane. I don’t think he’s going anywhere anytime soon.
Planters has recently launched a campaign around their famous logo. Throughout 2011, Mr. Peanut is traveling the country in the Planters Nutmobile. Inspired by the way peanuts naturally give back to the Earth, Planters is embarking on this tour in an effort to encourage Americans to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle.
Planters has also invested an estimated 35 million dollars in the revival of Mr. Peanut on the airwaves. They’ve revamped his look, and even hired Robert Downey, Jr. to give him a voice for the first time in his nearly one hundred years of service.
We here at Basis are in a culinary state of mind, having seen Julie & Julia this weekend (and, yes, having bought Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking from Amazon almost immediately). We got to thinking of dinner plates, and then to some of the most famous, and arguably most important, plates on earth; the White House china. Luckily for us, most of the White House china used over the centuries has been preserved in some form. Although it was not until somewhat recently that congress passed a law mandating that all White House china be either saved or destroyed. There’s a great story that when Lyndon and Ladybird Johnson didn’t like their dessert plates, the staff were allowed to smash them against a wall in the basement! For your edification, a selection of the choicest china our country has to offer:
George Washington, 1st President of the United States
Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States
Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States
George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States
These are images from the world famous Alinea restaurant in Chicago, owned and operated by Grant Achatz, pioneer of the molecular gastronomy movement. If you’ve got $300 bucks weighing you down, Alinea is a good place to unload it. The presentation is gorgeous.
