functional

By now, almost everyone has seen and had a chance to partake of the many cold-activated beer cans. Here is something a little different — a cold-activated spirits bottle. Box 19 of the approval for Metropolis says:  “Labels contain thermochromatic ink – the cityscape will change when temperatures increase/decrease.” The label goes a bit further, to say “Chill your bottle to light up the night. Label changes when chilled.” Metropolis also has approvals for gin and vodka. Chromatic Technologies, Inc. explains that such inks change color as their temperature changes. “Our thermochromic inks all work the same way … below the activation temperature they are colored and above the activation temperature they are clear or lightly colored. As the ink cools, the original color returns.” B&H Colour Change Ltd. also claims to be a world leader in thermochromic printing and further explains:

The whole label or a small part will change colour at a selected temperature to show when the beverage is the correct temperature for serving/drinking. Bottle shrink sleeves can be preprinted with thermochromic inks prior to sleeving. Board packaging for take-home multipacks can be printed with thermochromic ink, to encourage consumers to chill them in the fridge.

One might assume that beer + naked women is a nearly unstoppable combination. But it did not work out that way for Coast Range Brewing. It looks like the Gilroy, California purveyor of Nude Beer is long gone. Their last COLA was in 2006 and their last Nude Beer approval was in 2004. There is no sign of the company at the web address above. In all, the company got about 23 approvals for Nude Beer before fading away. Coast Range provides a clear lesson that it takes a lot more than unclothed women to sell beer. In case it’s not obvious from the above image, the idea is that you buy the beer and then peel off part of the label to reveal a woman with little if any clothing. A slightly blurred example is at the end of this sentence but don’t click it if you don’t want to see nudity. This kind of stickering is a good option for companies that want to show something more than the government and retailers might otherwise allow. We wanted to capture it before it fades into ancient history. This also shows that the system has a lot of checks and balances, such as the market, and the government doesn’t need to carry the entire...

The last two posts showed beverage packaging that serves the extra function of lighting up. Drink’n’Stick doesn’t just sit there on the shelf, passively. It is a wine package that beckons you to dress, or undress, the pin-up model. Like Quickie, this is another great one from Vine Street Imports and Some Young Punks. The latter website says:

Few wines come with instructions — this one also comes with a wardrobe. Peel the clothing from the sheet to customize the accompanying temptress as you drink.

Wine Girl has a good slide show and description. She said:

I was distracted for a full hour by just the bottle. … There is a Bettie Page-esque pin-up girl on the label. There’s also a plastic strip that you can carefully unwrap to reveal that our Bettie is actually the equivalent of a paper doll. The plastic strip has all sorts [of] clothing on it. I think I tried almost every possible combination on Bettie before settling on a ruffly shirt and crop pants. Ladies, there are even scarves and hair bows.

You know, the bottle appeals to both sexes, as I discovered in the store. Unwrapped, it’s a Bettie Page pin-up in retro lingerie. The guys were all excited. … The ladies,...