[Video] Coca-Cola 'Slimes' Hi-C Packaging for Ghostbusters Re-Up

Last Friday, the highly-anticipated action/comedy re-up of the 1984 "Ghostbusters" classic hit theaters, this time starring Kristin Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones. In honor of the cult classic, Coca-Cola has rereleased a fan favorite for a limited time: Hi-C Ecto Cooler (made by Minute Maid, a division of The Coca-Cola Company). The orange-tangerine citrus drink was beloved by children everywhere from the 80s until 1997. The juice box featured Slimer, the mischievous ghost made of ectoplasm who was caught by the Ghostbusters at the Sedgewick Hotel in the first movie. It was released in the late 80s as a product tie-in with the "Ghostbusters" cartoon series, "The Real Ghostbusters". In 1997 it was renamed Shoutin' Orange Tangergreen and was ultimately discontinued in 2001.

After dedicating more than a decade of time and effort to resurrect the green drink, when the rumblings of a new "Ghostbusters" film began, fans went wild. With Facebook and Instagram fan pages dedicated to Ecto Cooler, Coca-Cola heard the fans' cries. At the end of May, the company released the drink at select locations in both juice box and aluminum can form.

To spice things up, a thermochromic ink was added to the can, turning yellow graphics to a bright green, making it seem as though the can has been slimed after it is chilled.

packagePRINTING emailed Josh Gold from Coca-Cola who explained that the idea for the can came from a collaboration between Adam Burgess, a strategic design manager, and CMA Brand Presence, the company's creative agency, in order to get consumers excited about the release and provide a special package that would be collected by fans of Ecto Cooler.

The thermochromic ink is a cold activated color-to-color ink that was created by Coca-Cola's vendor partner Chromatic Technologies Inc. (CTI). And although color-changing ink isn't necessarily new on the scene, it was used in just the right way. Packaging is about maximizing consumer engagement, and with the limited release already highly anticipated among nostalgia seekers, turning the packaging into an interactive experience has consumers opting for the aluminum.

In an email to packagePRINTING, Don Shook, spokesman on behalf of CTI, explained that brands are seeking out thermochromic ink to serve as more than just a temperature indicator. While the cold-activated ink does provide an important function, Shook says the consumer engagement aspect of the ink makes for a more desirable package.

"Recently, we have seen a push toward using this technology beyond traditional functional message to creating a fun, playful interaction between the consumer and the brand," Shook writes. "This 'surprise and delight' with the thermochromic technology can be used to enhance the shelf-appeal of a product, or focus on highlighting critical brand messaging, draw attention to promotions or can be a tool to drive consumers toward a variety of social media programs and platforms."

For the Ecto-Cooler project, Shook explains that CTI had to create an ink that not only performed the color-change, but also stayed true to the "Ghostbusters" image and Hi-C brand.

"After evaluating a variety of colors for the Ghostbusters project, we determined that the color-to-color, green-to-yellow color change best captured the eerie slime image that Hi-C was wanting to communicate to consumers," says Shook. "One of the challenges of this project was integrating the cold-activated thermochromic technology into the Hi-C graphic while still honoring the brand integrity of the Hi-C cans."

To learn more about the product release, watch the video below: