New Designs: Beverage Makers Can Hardly Contain Themselves

Peter Baram never imagined his idea would pop up on 28 million beer cans.

But go figure. His biotechnology firm, Xytronyx Inc. of San Diego, recently developed a way to make a special ink turn visible only when exposed to sunlight. That caught the eye of Coors Light, whose big summer promotion has turned Xytronyx’s technology into a glitzy marketing gimmick. Coors Light cans now feature summer images that show up only when the sun shines.

During the hot summer months, it’s not just what’s in the can that matters. It’s what’s on it. The beverage giants amass up to 50% of their sales between Memorial Day and Labor Day. And the big players are increasingly relying on new bottle and can designs to lure consumers. Coke and Pepsi are marketing new bottles this summer. Like Coors, Miller is testing new gimmicks with its cans. Even Perrier has given its bottle a face lift.

“A package is a silent salesman,” said Frank Delano, chairman of the New York-based Delano Group, a corporate image specialist. “It is telling the consumer, ‘Pick me up and buy me.’ ”

For years, however, many beverage makers resisted anything but surface redesigns of their cans and bottles, out of fear of confusing the consumer. “The big soft drink companies are just beginning to realize that can design is not sanctified by God,” said Jesse Meyers, publisher of Beverage Digest.

Beverage makers will spend months tinkering with new designs for cans or bottles, hoping to boost sales. “It’s a way to get people to physically respond to your product,” said Tom Pirko, president of the New York consulting firm Bevmark. “These days, when something about a brand seems stale, the first impulse is to make the container look different.”

But a new container sometimes opens its own can of worms.

Witness Coca-Cola, which four years ago introduced “Magic Cans” that were supposed to magically dispense instant cash when opened. Coke filled the cans with water instead of cola, separated from the cash rewards with special seals. Some consumers who broke the seals tried to drink the murky water. And many cans had glitches that kept the cash prizes from popping out.

Some experts say beverage makers need to put the brakes on container redesign.

“There is a tremendous risk in tinkering too often with the bottle or can,” said Clay Timon, chairman of Landor Associates, a San Francisco design firm. After all, a brand’s image often depends on its familiar design. “You can wake up one day and find yourself in promotional cans 11 months of the year” and face a shrinking of the brand’s value, he said.

But Coors Light has basically kept its latest cans unchanged--except for those ultraviolet-light-sensitive designs that appear about 90 seconds after the sun hits them.

“Consumers are fascinated with the concept of having an image seemingly appear out of nowhere,” said Steve Ritter, brand director for Coors Light. The images on the so-called Sun Cans include sunglasses, headphones, diver’s masks and cameras.

Analysts say the increase in can and bottle redesign began about three years ago and that the trend has continued to gain momentum.

Two years ago, Coors tried to lure consumers with “talking” cans, which contained tiny, light-activated silicon chips that--when the tabs were pulled--spoke to beer drinkers. Miller Lite tried a new twist this summer by substituting T-shirts for beer in thousands of its cans. “Consumers saw it as added value,” said Rob Olejniczak, brand director. But it also resulted in complaints from some thirsty customers who were unhappy when they popped a top and found a shirt instead of a cold brew.

Even Perrier, which has long resisted changing the look of its bottled water, has begun testing a design change to its bottles sold in restaurants. The bottles come sealed in clear plastic with illustrations of people and animals that appear to be etched on the bottle.

“This represents the lighter aspect of the brand,” said Jan Lazgin, a company spokeswoman. “Things got too serious for a while,” she said, referring to the benzene contamination scare of 1990 that resulted in Perrier being voluntarily recalled by the firm.

Can and bottle redesign in the soft drink industry is often aimed at teen-agers.

Pepsi’s new “‘Big Slam” one-liter bottles are being heavily promoted by basketball superstar Shaquille O’Neal because the center for the Orlando Magic has such strong appeal with teen-agers, said Rob Meyer, director of package innovation at Pepsi.

“We had to step back and say, ‘How can we reinvigorate the category without changing the formula?’ ” Meyer said. “The idea is (that) teens like to be seen with these bottles.”

When Cherry Coke rejiggered its can last summer, it changed the color to a bright purple-and-black design with illustrations of red cherries. “It allows Coke to say to kids: ‘We’re hip. We’re cool. We’re breaking all the rules just like you,’ ” said Scott Mednick, whose Culver City firm, Mednick Group, redesigned the container.

Mednick also designed Coke cans distributed to students at 1994 spring break hot spots. The collectible cans tried to appeal to youngsters with special “Spring Break 1994” logos.

More recently, Coke introduced a bottle redesign that goes back to its roots. But again, teen-agers are the real target.

Nearly a million teen-agers have been mailed empty plastic Coke bottles that look similar to the contour glass bottles Coke discontinued in the mid-1970s, said Susan McWhorter, director of package development at Coke.

Behind this mass mailing is Coke’s decision to bring back the contour shape after polling consumers--including thousands of teen-agers--and discovering that most prefer the contour bottles. Along with the plastic bottles, teen-agers were sent coupons for free Coke.

(Supply is a problem, so the bottles aren’t likely to make it to California until next year, a spokeswoman said.)

And while McWhorter wouldn’t confirm it, one beverage industry insider says Coke is even considering one shape no one has yet put on the shelf: contour cans.

Briefly . . .

For an estimated $50 million in stock, the Interpublic Group of Cos. has purchased the New York ad agency Ammirati & Puris and is merging the holder of the Burger King ad account into its Lintas New York agency. . . . The Santa Monica agency Rubin Postaer & Associates has consolidated its media buying with its division, RP alpha, which handles Honda dealership ads. . . . The Los Angeles office of D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles, which recently won the Blue Cross and Lockheed ad accounts, plans to hire six additional employees. . . . Nike will become the official footwear and apparel sponsor of U.S. soccer in 1995. . . . The Western States Advertising Agencies Assn. has named Bob Kresser of Santa Monica-based Kresser/Craig as its president for 1994-95.