box vox

Kinder Joy’s Dual-Chambered Egg Pack

Photo from SmALl CloUd ...'s Flickr Photostream

Kinder Joy brings several favorite box vox themes together in one package.

1. First off, it’s another egg-pack, fitting nicely into our entirely egg-shaped week—(that, technically, should have begun with the Silly Putty/L’eggs post from last week)—and although Kinder Joy may be sold at Easter, the company, by no means, confines their marketing efforts to that time of year.

2. It’s another thermoformed, single-serve, peel-off pack in a metaphorical shape. Similar to the bottle & jar-shaped packets and the half-orange-shaped packs from earlier this month. In fact, Kinder Joy’s dual structure—one half for the edible treat; one half for the prize—is exactly like that of Alberto Ghirardello’s Salvo concept (where two halves of an orange break apart to form two separate containers).

3. Kinder Joy (like Kinder Surprise) is a “surprise package” and includes the classic, question-mark styling, typical of that tradition.

Photo on right (revealing prize) is from P.J.S.'s Flickr Photostream

(Case-packs & TV commercials , after the fold...)

Silly Putty & L’eggs

(Two famous egg-shaped, plastic packages.)

Silly Putty: invented around 1943—(either by Dow Corning’s engineers or by inventors working for General Electric)—but ultimately marketed and sold as “Silly Putty” in the early 1950s by Peter Hodgson. Originally called “Nutty Putty” and “Bouncing Putty,” Hodgson changed the name to “Silly Putty.”

As Easter was fast approaching, Hodgson decided to package 1-ounce chunks of putty into plastic eggs and he sold them for $1.

In February of 1950, Hodgson introduced Silly Putty at the International Toy Fair In New York. The other toy marketers saw little use for Hodgson’s Silly Putty and encouraged him to abandon his plans to promote it. Without any regard to their discouraging comments, Hodgson brought the Silly Putty production to a converted barn in North Branford, CT. He continued to package the Silly Putty in plastic eggs and these were shipped to toy stores in pasteboard egg crates that he acquired from the Connecticut Cooperative Poultry Association. Although this was an innovative idea, it didn’t catch on as Hodgson had hoped, until he got some help from an unexpected ally. That August the writer for the Talk of the Town section of “The New Yorker” magazine wrote an article about Silly Putty after he had discovered it in a bookstore. Hodgson shortly thereafter received orders for over a quarter million eggs of Silly Putty within just three days time.

–Retro Planet

(So while it was in no way an “Easter” product, it turns out that Silly Putty was packaged in eggs—which were, themselves, packaged in egg cartons—on account of Easter.)

L’eggs: The other well-known example of egg-shaped packaging is from the 1970s.

The L’eggs naming, package and logo were created by designer Roger Ferriter, working in the design studio of Herb Lubalin Associates in New York City in 1969. On the morning of the scheduled presentation to the Hanes Corporation of the marketing and packaging ideas for the new low cost pantyhose launch, Ferriter was not satisfied that the work was sufficiently creative. In an effort to revisit the name and packaging one last time, he attempted to “experience” the product in some new way, hoping that the exercise would suggest a new creative direction for the branding. Among his efforts, he attempted to compress a pair of pantyhose in his fist, wondering how compact the product could become. Staring at his clenched fist with the pantyhose inside he was struck with the possibility that the package could be an egg. Just as quickly, he realized that egg rhymes with leg, and then adding the popular mid century marketing boost of giving a product name some French sounding twist, he incorporated the l’ (French for “the” when followed by a vowel such as the “e” of eggs) and arrived at L’eggs. Some sketches were prepared in time for the presentation, including a logo that incorporated two egg-influenced letter “g”s and thus was born one of the most successful product launches in history.

Wikipedia’s entry on “L’eggs”

(In 1991 L’eggs switched from their plastic, egg-shaped container to a (vaguely) egg-shaped paperboard carton.)

Even though “the egg” is one of those oft-cited examples of nature’s perfect packaging, the egg-shaped plastic containers of both companies always required additional packaging and were sometimes even put into boxes.

(Boxes and more L’eggs, after the fold...)

Canned Camera

Not a packaging camera, but a cross-category, canned camera.

Unbelievably, the whole cat motif is based on the idea that this is a camera designed specifically for taking pictures of cats. The camera has flashing colored lights and “meows” to attract a cat’s attention. Not so good for taking candid shots of cats. Although if we define a “candid photo” as one taken without the subject’s knowledge, then, perhaps, it’s debatable. What does a cat know? Does looking at the camera make it “self-conscious” ?

Huh! It’s gradually dawning on me that this “cat” camera is packaged in a can as a reference to cat food. I didn’t get that at all until just now. Maybe this is because the graphics on the can are not particularly cat food-like. Never-the-less, I do like the way the photo is cropped. (Imagine cropping out the cat’s eyes...)

(Another Holga, canned cat camera, after the fold...)

Supergraphic Wacky Packs

60s kid-satire, “Wacky Packs” meets early 70s, “supergraphics” via Philadelphia-based LTL Prints’ peel & stick wall graphics.

Last year I was touting my decorating acumen for having framed a Wacky Pack press sheet to decorate our office. But these large-scale Wacky Packs (available in sizes up to 7 feet tall) raise a serious client-relations question. How far do I dare go with the Wacky Packaging decor?

Some of these mock packages actually imply that the products they contain are maybe not so good. Is that the message I really want to send? Certainly not the usual market-speak of a consumer packaged goods design firm. Maybe that’s refreshing.

What do you think? If you were a client, would it alienate you? And which one of the Wacky Packages below, do you think would look good, say, seven feet long over our conference table—I mean, without damaging our credibility with you?

 

(Another room photo, after the fold...)

Dollhouse Packaging

Play Scale Minis: seeing to it that the cupboards and pantries of today’s dollhouses are are fully stocked with miniature consumer packaged goods.

(A different dollhouse miniature company and a different product category, after the fold...)

Another type of kind of "can car"

A “car-in-a-can” that maybe should have been included in our first Cross-Category Packaging post (Part 1: Cans), but would have also made sense as a third type of “can car.” At any rate, here it is now as a feature story...

Miniature remote-control car, comes in a soda-can style package. (Via: Totally-Funky)

(Film, after the fold...)

Cross-Category Packaging: (Part 4: Sardine Cans)

Another cross-category packaging concept: sardine cans. Similar to the cross-category egg carton packaging for egg-shaped products, these flat cans (with old fashioned keys or pop-top lids) are often thought of as clever containers for any number of fish-shaped products. Where the classic sardine can “keys” are no long practicable, they are sometimes still alluded to in the printed graphics. (Doubtful, however, that the young consumers of, say,  “Squishy Fishies” would have any point of reference for cans of fish that are opened with a key.)

Among the cross-categorically packaged products in this round-up: fish-shaped chocolates and candies, fish-shaped catnip toys, fish-shaped children’s toys, beach-scented candles, T-shirt in a tin, bath salts, a novelty canned mermaid, and a sardine can puzzle. (see: Packaging Puzzles)

Also noteworthy is the “Survival-Kit-in-a-Sardine-Can,” — (itself, packaged in a polybag with a header card.) Part of the kit-in-a-can trend, this kit, by virtue of having been fit into a sardine can, is presumed to be a very efficient & compact assortment. There are also other kits in sardine cans.

Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design

Cross-Category Packaging (Part 3: Egg Cartons)

Top row, left: ”Soggs,“ socks from Xplorys (the same company that brought us FreshWear baby clothes, packaged in milk cartons); on right: egg shaped candles from Coastal Candle Supply; 2nd row, left: Soso in egg-shaped salt shakers (via the dieline); on right: a six-pack of Tenga “egg” sex toys; 3rd row from left (clockwise): marshmallow eggs (from Cybele-’s Flickr Photostream); Benny Bully’s “egg chop” dog treats; Swatch “CHICCHIRICHI” watch and packaging, and “Dancing Egg” game packaging from Haba Toys; on right “Feeling Egg” LED light set packaging; 4th row, left: chocolate eggs from Thompson Candy; on right: a Language Egg Carton Game; 5th row, left: Disney’s Chicken Little figures packaging (via Stuart Ng Books and Toy Whiz); on right: a craft felt egg carton project via eBay; below that: MailleBox yarn packaging (photo from PutYourFlareOn’s Flickr Photostream); 6th row: children’s “egg” toy packaging; bottom row: Asher Jasper’s packaging for felted creatures

Continuing with the cross-category series—(as defined in Part 1)—here are egg cartons which do not contain eggs. (At least not the genuine, laid-by-a-hen type of egg.)

For Easter candy & chocolate eggs (and other deliberately egg-shaped items) it‘s not really such a stretch to come up with the idea of packaging them like eggs. Not so obvious that socks, sex toys, pet treats, yarn, salt, felt toys & LED lights could also be packaged this way.

Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design

Tin Can Telephones

The tin can telephone or “string phone,” though not the beloved childhood toy it once was, still lives on as symbolic shorthand for “communication” on stock photo sites and in the occasional television ad. This campaign for Progresso Soup makes interesting use of the device—each commercial showing consumers using empty Progresso Soup cans to engage in various tin-can-telephone conversations about the product.

(Another “string phone” film, after the fold...)

FBI Jr. Spy Toy Packaging

In our previous post, we focused on package-shaped cameras, one of which was a toy spy-camera in the shape of a Resse’s Peanut Butter Cap package. Further research turned up this collection of other “FBI Jr.” brand toys on Sam’s Toybox. 

Turns out that “FBI Jr. by Nasta” was all about spy paraphernalia designed to resemble soda & snack food packaging. (None of Sam’s toys are for sale.)

 

(Another Pepsi Walkie Talkies box—one that is for sale—after the fold...)

Packaging Cameras

Top row, left: Velveeta box camera from Allee Willis’s Blog; on right: Coke Can cameras from eBay;  2nd row, left: film canister camera via I New Idea; 3rd row, right: Fanta can camera from CircusCat’s photostream; center: King’s Cigarette box camera from Rick Soloway’s photostream; on right: instant coffee jar camera from eBay; 4th row left: chocolate milk box camera from Four Corners Dark; center: juice box camera from Zebriana’s photostream; on right: Budweiser Beer can camera (from eBay, I think); bottom row, left: Smarties camera from RockyCameras.com; on right: “Zeon Tech” Pepsi camera from Arthur Smokes’ photostream

There seems to be no end to the personal accessory categories in which you can find objects designed to resemble consumer packaged goods. We’ve already covered cigarette lighters, telephones and transistor radios. (Not to mention: salt & pepper shakers) Now we’re looking at package-shaped cameras.

Are they merely advertising promotions or are they products in their own right? Are they toys or another example of extreme brand loyalty?

(Another packaging camera—& the box that it came in—after the jump...)

Oatmeal Box Radios

Photo from The Rocketeer’s Flickr Photostream 

Quaker Oats came out with their cylindrical box in 1915, coincidentally coinciding with the popularity of home-brewed crystal radio sets.

Young boys were at the forefront of the broadcasting movement and were frequently credited with introducing the technology into their households. Given the scarcity and expense of factory-ready receivers, the boys’ primitive crystal sets, often made by wrapping wire around an empty Quaker Oats can, were no longer seen as trivial toys. At the opening of the First National Radio Conference in 1922, Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover directly acknowledged the “genius of the American boy,” and observed that many of them possessed the requisite knowledge to create a radio station.

Noah Arceneaux
Paul Reveres of Early Radio:
The Boy Scouts and the Origins of Broadcasting

---

“Sales of Quaker Oats went zooming, not because the populace had suddenly gone ape over hot cereal, but because the cylindrical box made a perfect base for coil winding.”

San Diego’s Hysterical History
By Howard W. Howard, Herbert Lockwood

(More pictures of Quaker “oat box” radios, after the fold...)

Fractal Jenga Box

A fractal-pack idea from the high concept section of London-based The Core’s website...

Designed to resemble one of the building blocks it contains, this self-similar Jenga box could, itself, be stacked like Jenga blocks for an in-store display. (More about how packaging can be fractal: here, here, here, here, here, here & here)

(Note: I extracted the single box on the right from The Core’s picture of stacked boxes below.)

 

Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design

 

Marlboro Doll Case

Vintage Marlboro Cigarettes Barbie Doll case from a 2008 eBay auction:

“Marlboro Cigarette Barbie doll case....back when it was cool to get a cigarette case for your child’s doll!! ...you had to order this special!....can be used as a box purse.....all intact but shows wear and some pen marks ... Plastic PVC covering in still nice with no cracks to the edges....made by the Philip Morris co and has patent # on bottom.....VERY fun find for your collection!!”

(via Worthpoint.com)

Aside from the issue of cigarette branded children toys... The thing I don’t understand about this item is, if Marlboro was bending over backwards to overcome the supposed stigma of its “sissy” origins, how come they came out with a little girl’s doll case? How does this jibe with the tattooed man campaign?

Another couple of photos, after the fold...)

Shopping Cart Toy?

I got this shopping cart last month from the Salvation Army. Is it a toy? I’m not so sure. It’s pretty utilitarian and, aside from being little, there’s nothing to indicate that it was meant to be a toy. (No toy company branding, etc.) I was thinking it might be some sort of retail display prop. If it is a shopping cart toy, it’s the second shopping cart toy that we’ve featured here on box vox—(see: the first one)—and the only shopping cart that I ever actually bought. It’s about 1/3 actual size, but I got it for 1/2 off.  ( $12.00 ÷ 2 = $6.00 )

For the photo I loaded it up with groceries and foodstuffs that we had on hand. A couple of these brands, we’ve covered before. (Remember this one or this one?)

(Update: All questions answered by an astute commenter, after the fold...)

Marbles as Bottle Toppers

Okay, this is the last post about marbles. I promise.

Back in the days when they were still somewhat popular with children, marbles were sometimes used to help sell soda pop. (Coca-Cola bottle toppers from eBay)

Not that this was the first time that marbles were added to beverage packaging. (See: Codd Neck Bottles)

(One more photo, after the fold...)

Vintage Marbles Packaging

Not the popular children’s toy, they once were, but to continue with yesterday’s thought: boxes. During their heyday, marbles were packaged in boxes. Sometimes these boxes might include a carrying pouch, but marbles in plastic polybags came later. (With one exception, all of these photos are via Marbles Galore.)

(More marbles boxes, after the fold...)

More Marbles

Top row left: jar of marbles from Plow Plane's Flickr Photostream; on left: water cooler jug and 2nd row: shelves of jars from from Dusty 73’s Flickr Photostream; bottom left: Lipton Ice Tea bottle from Tare Panda’s Flickr photostream; to the right and on far left: photos from eBay, I think; milk bottle of marbles from Santa Cruz Bread’s guess-the-quantity contest

In case you haven’t noticed, I like to follow a thread. Therefore: from a jar of marbles with manufactured meaning (sold at a significant profit on eBay) to more reused containers, containing other (less significant?) collections of marbles.

Jars and bottles seem to be de rigueur among collectors for the display of their collections, although not the type of container in which they’re generally sold. (More about that tomorrow.)

(One more collection of marbles, after the fold...)

Significant Jar of Marbles

I’ve briefly touched on the “Significant Objects” project (here) in my post about Joshua Glenn & Carol Hayes book: Taking Things Seriously, 75 Objects with Unexpected Significance.

A joint project by Joshua Glenn and Rob Walker, “Significant Objects” is a sort of spin off from that book. Previously insignificant objects are given new meaning and increased monetary value, by virtue of having been written about in a story. The objects are then put up for sale on eBay. I bid on a cursed bottle, but (luckily for me) I lost.

Since then, I’ve been monitoring closely for significant packaging-related swag, but I haven’t really coveted any of the objects quite as much. Until now with this jar of marbles.

The weird thing is—as unappealing as some of this stuff is at first glance—these stories do a great job at transforming your initial repulsion into a desire to purchase. I was not instantly drawn to this reused Beechnut Baby Food jar and I don’t collect marbles, but after reading Ben Ehrenreich’s disturbing story about how this particular batch of marbles came to be contained in this jar, it has, for me, become a very desirable item.

I pull a marble from your skull each time we kiss. “Give it back,” you say, each time.

“Darling,” I say. “Baby,” I say. “No.”

I put the marble in my pocket. Later, I will hide it with the others. But not now, because now you’re watching. Now you’re getting mad. I knew you would, and now you’re doing it. You cross your arms. Your features droop. Not just your lips but your eyelids and ears and the cleft ball of your chin. All of it droops. I laugh at you. “Come here, Droopy,” I say, and I try to kiss you, but you pull away.

–Excerpt from Jar of Marbles by Ben Ehrenreich

Unfortunately with the bidding already up to $28.05 and with three more days to go before the auction ends, I don’t think I can compete for ownership of these marbles. Not when I’m paying out of a joint bank account. Even if I were willing to spend $50, $100, maybe even more on this super-significant jar of marbles—how on earth would I explain it to my significant other?

Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design

Buckyballs Packaging: Before & After

Maybe you’ve seen the YouTube videos of someone’s expert hands, artfully wrangling these magnetic ball bearings into different polyhedral arrangements. A fun crystal-structure teaching opportunity (and cool that it references Buckminster Fuller and fullerenes, AKA: buckyballs)

Zoomdoggle recently switched their packaging from a glass jar to a PVC box. (I met owner, Craig Zucker last August at Gift Fair and learned that the design of the new pack was handled in-house.)

(A Buckyballs display, after the fold...)