Bruce Lee x Johnnie Walker Blue Label Whiskey

I just caught the new Johnnie Walker Blue Label ad on TV last night, featuring none other than the legendary Bruce Lee! Apparently it took 9 months to create this rendition of him in CGI. While it does look very cool, I am not sure Mr. Lee would be to thrilled about it as he was in to clean living and NOT a whiskey drinker. I guess somebody got paid A LOT. 

The script is taken from an interview he did in the US in the 70's I think. According to director Joseph Kahn: "The video is not about drinking, or an advertisement with Bruce Lee doing condoning it.'s A short inspirational sponsored by the brand. Analogy between water and alcohol is wrong. The last thing want to be that alcohol is water.'s a metaphor for life.'s his metaphor in his own words. spent a year living and breathing the story of this man, thinking of him daily. for me, it's not an ad.'s, its an celebration of the man. "

The Ramune Type Japanese Carbonated Drink Experience

Our designer Eric brought in a couple of old school RAMUNE Japanese soft drinks into work the other day. If you have not seen one before, it is a sweet carbonated beverage in a glass (or PET) bottle with a pinched off bubble in the neck that contains a small glass marble.This one looks a bit like a face to me. But its actually there to prevent the marble from rolling up the neck, to the mouth of the bottle and sealing up against the rubber washer. 

We had a little fun opening them at the office and brushed up on some beverage history. Our director who caught notice reminisced about soft drinks in India that used to be packaged the same. It turns out that they still manufacture the brand BANTA in India the same way. 

We followed the instructions but still managed to make a mess. We got it all on video and put together a short clip to document 'The Experience'.

The Codd-Neck bottle was designed and patented in 1872 but Hiram Codd.

source: Wikipedia 

Mobile Phone Case with Bottle Opener

Another new product to hit our catalogs this year is a compete range of mobile phone cases with integrated bottle openers. This is a great promotional product for beverage brands and we have sent some out to our favorite bars already. Constructed from metal and PC resin, this case has been developed for iPhone 4/4S/5 and Samsung as well!

You can order customized cases with either embossed or silk screen printed logos of your brand or company. 

Can Simple Package Design Be Too Simplistic?

This is a question our designers at PAE grapple with on a daily basis. How simple is too simple? With our attention focused on Africa we follow different trends than the US and Europe but we have also found that simple design concepts are very effective. But is there a line where we leave brand identity and recognition behind?

I came across a great article on www.brandpackaging.com that shed some light on the subject.

'A prominent trend has been to contemporize packaging by making it simple. Clutter isn’t desirable, but in the haste to keep it clean, is packaging being oversimplified? To the point that it’s starting to look generic? Is this causing more problems than it solves? Are important brand drivers omitted to the detriment of sales and profits because it doesn’t communicate enough to the consumer? Finally, is this hampering otherwise strong brands from becoming category leaders?'

Read the rest of this article here...

Source: Brand Packaging