Maura Cluthe has a beautifully presented bottle cap collection on her Flickr site. (Check out her extensive collection at a higher resolution than I’m showing here.)
Interesting how people like to collect things that are all the same, only different. Bottle caps are classic example.
Our tendency to collect things and our desire for completeness, has long been something that savvy companies knowingly exploit. Even if they don’t specifically say, “Collect all 12!” there’s still an impulse to do so. When you see an array of products, all in the same packaging—but in various colors and flavors—doesn’t a part of you want the whole set? It’s like, “How on earth do I make an informed choice without trying them all?”
I remember as a kid, being encouraged to collect 6 Royal Crown Cola bottle caps in order to gain free admission to a matinee movie in Sarasota. But I was never well-organized or motivated enough to amass more than 6.
What movie did I use my bottle caps to see? Attack of the Puppet People.
(more bottle caps after the jump)
Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design
hey Randy - thanks so much for the kind post about my bottlecap collection. some day i'll get around to posting some of my other collections, too! haha - one at a time! thx again - best to you, maura
Posted by: maura | May 26, 2008 at 03:02 PM
I have some RC and Diet Rite Cola pop bottle caps that have the 10-cent rewards stamped inside the cap. It was a promotional program back in the 60's or 70's. Are these things worth anything? Or should I just toss them?
Posted by: kenny | June 26, 2009 at 12:33 PM