Thinking Outside The Can: A 'Condensed' Look at Package Design at Campbell Soup Company

The lobby of the world headquarters of Campbell Soup Company in Camden, NJ, is a bright museum of Campbell-themed artistic creations by consumers. On one wall hangs an assortment of homages to Andy Warhol (1928-1987), who, in his most renowned effort as a painter, turned the familiar red-and-white Campbell’s Tomato Soup can into an icon of modern graphic imagery. 

The lobby of the world headquarters of Campbell Soup Company in Camden, NJ, is a bright museum of Campbell-themed artistic creations by consumers. On one wall hangs an assortment of homages to Andy Warhol (1928-1987), who, in his most renowned effort as a painter, turned the familiar red-and-white Campbell’s Tomato Soup can into an icon of modern graphic imagery. Warhol used to say that he painted pictures of soup cans because he liked to eat soup for lunch. It’s fair to suppose that if he could survey the entire Campbell product line today, he would discover even more “M’m! M’m! Good!¨” things to whet his appetite and guide his brush. Warhol probably also would be pleased to see that Campbell’s package design group continues to take vigor, simplicity, and Package design at Campbell is a part of the company’s research and development activity—a somewhat surprising relationship, given the typical connection of corporate design groups to brand management or marketing. But, the affiliation with R&D, far from implying any dilution of the design group’s importance, elevates the team’s status and places the designers at the heart of brand creation and maintenance. William H. Lunderman, vice president, global design, says the group is regarded as a “center for excellence” in a company that depends heavily upon the look of its packaging to sell more than $7 billion worth of food products annually in 120 countries around the world. Warhol’s celebrated observation about 15 minutes of future fame has never applied to Campbell, a classic American business institution for nearly 100 years already by the time Warhol exhibited his soup can series in 1962. Today, thanks to a portfolio of more than 20 householdname brands including Campbell’s, Pepperidge Farm, Prego, V8, Pace, Swanson, and Godiva, the company’s market profile is higher than ever. Each of these brands, according to Campbell’s 2004 annual report, is '1 or '2 in its category or segment.