Louise Marsland (@Louise_Marsland)’s weekly pick of recent product, packaging and design launches:
- Oreo’s culture-jacking hits South Africa
- Lay’s launches a 50% less fat chip
- Shannon’s Merlot released
- adidas’ custom designer mag out
South Africa’s Oreo Momentos
Remember the iconic Oreo centenary celebrations in 2012 in the US which ran for 100 days, re-imagining USA pop culture through Oreo depictions, as well as the translation of actual news events into Oreo representations? The highly acclaimed global campaign walked away with over 13 highly esteemed awards, including three CLIO awards and four Cannes Lions, plus the overall Cannes Grand Prix.
Now, for 2014, Oreo South Africa has brought fans a local twist on the ‘Daily Twist’ campaign and SA fans can enjoy locally relevant news and culture brought to life by Oreo. During the launch phase over the month of March, followers can even win their own exclusive, personalised ‘Oreo Momento’. Winners will be announced end-March.
The designs will feature creations of the biscuit’s iconic visuals, representing pertinent pop culture news, milestones or celebrations taking place locally, showcased on the Oreo Facebook page.
The local effort seems a tad boring so far; I think Nandos and kulula have ‘culture-jacking’ down in SA. Oreo would have to be braver to match the kind of satire we have come to appreciate in savvy brands with their pulse on society.
A new chip to dip
Fifty percent less guilt then too presumably, but for all of you on all those low-carb/no-carb diets, sorry for you, you still can’t have it!
The flavour combinations are Hot &Tangy Piquanté Pepper, White Cheddar & Spring Onion, and PeriPeri Prawn. I dunno, good old salt and vinegar chips with a lekker avocado dip are still my favourite among all these fashionable new flavours.
The new Lay’s Popped launch will be supported by in-store point-of-sale, sampling and PR.
Mount Bullet Merlot released
Shannon Vineyards, situated on the Elgin Valley plateau in the Cape, has released the 2011 vintage of its site-specific Mount Bullet Merlot.
Ever since the release of the maiden 2007 Mount Bullet Merlot, Shannon Vineyards has turned heads both locally and internationally, garnering widespread acclaim for this red wine that has shown itself to be the most highly rated Merlot in South Africa and one of the country’s finest reds.
The label depicts the rugged dome on the mountain range above the vineyards after which it is named.
The wine is described as displaying fragrant ripe red fruit on the nose, especially plums and dark cherries. It can be enjoyed now or until 2018.
Original adidas
The third edition of the designer adidas Originals AREA3 Broadsheet will hit the streets this week at all adidas Originals stores and selected retailers countrywide, featuring a peek into the lives of renowned photographers, Anthony Bila and Kristin-Lee Moolman. Limited issues will be available from adidas Originals stores nationwide.
Making a come-back this year is the adidas Originals Stan Smith, reinvigorated and updated for the modern day while still staying true to the look and shape of the original, which also gets a feature.
There is also a look at the adidas Originals Unite Joburg featuring Danny Brown event, which hosted over 2000 of the most influential people in Joburg. The exhibition followed the live adidas Originals Unite Johannesburg event and showcased photography by Paul Ward, as well as five hand-picked Joburg photographers who were commissioned to capture as many portraits of people hailing from the five iconic Jozi districts — Illovo, Maboneng Precinct, Newtown, Sandton and Soweto.
It’s a visual feast.
Shelf Life by Louise Marsland is a weekly column on MarkLives. Tweet new product, packaging and design launches to @louise_marsland or email her at louise.marsland at gmail.com. Want to sponsor Shelf Life? Contact us here.
Louise has written about the FMCG, media, marketing and advertising industry for 19 of her more-than-25-year career as a former editor of magazines AdVantage, Marketing Mix and Progressive Retailing, as well as websites Bizcommunity.com and FMCGFiles. She currently edits the weekly Wednesday Media & Marketing Page for The New Age newspaper and is the publishing editor of industry trendwatching portal, TRENDAFRiCA, for consumer insight, research and trends in Africa.
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