Box Vox

packaging as content

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October 5, 2011

Stella Artois & Champagne Velvet
(Beer Can as Drinking Glass)

StellaArtois-ChampagnVelvet

A can of Stella Artois Premium Lager Beer as compared to a vintage can of Champagne Velvet Beer.

Both feature large silhouettes of stemware. Stella Artois’s explanation is that “the new can celebrates the chalice.”

The glass that appeared on the Champagne Velvet can (more of a wine glass than a Champagne glass) was accompanied by the tagline “…for the good life.”

Most of the time, when a glass was shown on early beer labels, it was like a “serving suggestion.” Consumers were expected to pour the beer from its storage container into a drinking glass. With single portion beer containers, however, Americans in particular found it more convenient and increasingly acceptable to drink beer directly from the container.

Despite its Belgian origins and the fact that they will also sell you branded glassware —“Fine Belgian beer tastes even better when you enjoy it from gracefully curved Stella Artois Chalice-style glassware”— I believe that what the “Chalice Can” really says is that the can is equivalent to a glass so you don’t have to bother with a real glass.

(For more about drinking from the package, see also: Branding in Your Home)

Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design

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