Everyone will have 15 minutes of fame, but Andy Warhol’s creative legacy will enjoy yet a few months more.
Nestlé Waters Canada has announced that, in homage to the late pop art icon, its series of limited-edition Warhol-inspired Perrier sparkling water bottles, already available in the United States, are now available in Canada. The bottle designs are based on Warhol’s 1983 Perrier bottle screen print series and have been replicated to commemorate Perrier’s 150th anniversary.
“Perrier has a long tradition of involvement in the arts, so this is a fitting tribute,” said Jennifer Semley Robert, marketing manager of premium brands at Nestlé Waters Canada. She noted that the exclusively packaged bottles will remain on Canadian shelves until the end of the year, on the brand’s 750 mL glass bottle format as well as its 1L and 500mL plastic format.
“When brands choose to associate themselves with Andy Warhol, they are communicating to their consumers that they embrace the provocative creative spirit of the iconic artist,” said Michael Hermann, director of licensing at the New York-based Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. “This was our starting point when considering how best to execute the project. Following this direction, Perrier developed the labels we see today.”
Hermann noted that he’d been eying a Perrier collaboration since around 2007, but that Perrier’s 150th anniversary was the right time to move forward with it.
“We are very selective when considering projects, and place a premium on those that offer an authentic, creative execution inspired by Warhol’s uncanny ability to allow us to see the familiar from unexpected perspectives,” said Hermann. “The foundation takes very seriously its responsibility to properly manage Warhol’s legacy…It is important that we work with forward-thinking organizations like Perrier that are able to execute projects that combine and reflect Andy Warhol’s maverick approach to art making and his sophisticated sense of design.”
Semley Robert noted that large retail displays will soon promote the campaign nationwide and that a coupon program will eventually roll out across 1,500 Canadian retailers in support of it.
PR for the campaign is handled by Toronto’s Arts & Communications agency. DACS handled Canadian POS, and the packaging itself was designed by France’s FM Studio.
