Summertime Packaging Goes Red, White and Blue

Take a look around and you'll notice it everywhere. When the sun starts shining and weekend trips to the slopes turn into trips to the beach; red, white and blue packaging begins to line the shelves. Summer means barbecues, camping, fireworks and pool parties, which make for the perfect occasions for festive packaging to share with friends and family.

But something about this year is a little different. There seems to be more patriotic packaging than ever before. So what makes this summer different from summers past? Maybe it's the fact that it's an election year that has been an exciting one so far (to say the least), or the fact that it's an Olympic year — which some, such as Ad Age, say may be a contributing factor to the influx of patriotic packaging.

Whatever the reason may be, brands are looking to capitalize on seasonal packaging trends. And who's to complain? Consumers have expressed an interest in fresh, updated packaging, and printers and converters who can keep up with seasonal packaging campaigns will certainly appreciate the business. With July 4th just around the corner, here's a look at some of the specialty packaging taking over the shelves in 2016:

Hershey's

In the candy aisle, it doesn't get much more iconic than Hershey's chocolate, especially since it hasn't changed its packaging in 122 years. In May, it released packaging that replaced its trademark silver Hershey's milk chocolate bar lettering with red, white and blue lettering in advance of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

According to a press release, it's not just the chocolate bar that's taking a dip into patriotic packaging. The full line also includes Hershey’s Milk Chocolate with Almond Bars, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Kit Kat Wafer Bars and Payday Bars. The special-edition products also include 12-ounce bags of Hershey’s Kisses Chocolates, Reese’s Miniatures, Hershey’s Miniatures, York Candies and Rolo Candies.

M&M's

Hershey is not the only iconic chocolate brand giving its products a patriotic summer makeover, however. Mars will continue its trend of releasing red, white and blue M&M's mixes for the summer months. Unlike the unchanged (until now) Hershey packaging, M&M's are known for specialty and personalized candy mixes — with colorful bags dedicated to everything from Valentine's Day to general "autumn" colored candies.

Smirnoff

Would it be a packaging trend if spirits didn't partake in the fun? I think not. This summer, Smirnoff is celebrating American pride with the release of Smirnoff Red, White and Berry — a cherry, citrus and sweet blue raspberry flavored vodka. The limited edition vodka was designed to help "capture the All-American spirit," according to the press release.

"From Memorial Day to Independence Day and beyond, there are so many opportunities during the summer months to celebrate American pride and inclusivity," Jay Sethi, VP of marketing for Smirnoff, said in a press release. "With the release of Smirnoff Red, White & Berry, we hope to bring people from all cultures and traditions together, because good times are made better when everyone is invited."

Budweiser

Speaking of adult beverages, Anheuser-Busch recently released it's most patriotic display yet, with bottles and cans of "America." That's right. If you haven't heard, Budweiser has temporarily changed it's name to "America" for the summer months.

“We are embarking on what should be the most patriotic summer that this generation has ever seen, with Copa America Centenario being held on U.S. soil for the first time, Team USA competing at the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Ricardo Marques, vice president, Budweiser, in the press release.

This isn't the first time Anheuser-Busch has released red, white and blue packaging. Actually, it seems like almost every summer for the past few years, it releases limited edition packaging in honor of the USA. However, the name change concept hasn't gone without some criticism. packagePRINTING's sister brand, Target Marketing, even had a few words to say about the extreme plunge into patriotism.

Coca-Cola

(Photo: Business Wire)

In conjunction with it's "Share a Coke and a Song" campaign, Coca-Cola has released limited edition cans of the namesake soda through July 4^th. The red, white and blue cans will feature the Lee Greenwood classic "God Bless the U.S.A." with the lyric "I'm proud to be an American." According to a press release, the cans were designed to honor the 75th anniversary of the partnership between Coca-Cola and the United Service Organizations.

“Our partnership with the USO dates back to 1941 and we have worked together for 75 years to help keep service members refreshed all over the world,” Erika von Heiland Strader, director, community marketing, Coca-Cola North America, said in a press release. “The custom patriotic packaging is Coca-Cola’s special way of commemorating and thanking the USO for its many years of impactful work to help keep the nation’s military men and women connected to family, home and country throughout their time of service.”

Send Us More Examples

We want to see what other brands are switching up their packaging for the summer. While you're grilling, watching fireworks or lounging at the beach, send any other examples of patriotic packaging you come across to packagingnews@napco.com or tweet us @PackagePrintMag.