Displayed side-by-side on retail shelves, the two cartons combine to show the entire B-24 "Liberator" airplane, a well-known aircraft of the war. The plane features the Schlitz "Golden Girl" as bomber art on its nose. Printed gravure in four colors by Mead Packaging Div. (Atlanta, GA), the cartons are made of 26-pt SBS.
"Many purchasing decisions are made at the point of purchase," says Stroh spokeswoman Lacey Logan. "We believe that paperboard is a valuable marketing tool and Mead has provided us with a carton with appealing color graphics." The WWII-style cartons will be used for 6-, 12- and 24-packs of 12-oz aluminum cans from American National Can (Chicago, IL). The 1945 replica of the classic Schlitz can, with its burgundy/ brown color and graphics, completes the nostalgic package.
Stroh also introduces The Gripper(TM) 16-oz bottle for Schlitz Malt Liquor. Standing 9.7" tall, the amber-colored longneck bottle from Anchor Glass Container (Tampa, FL) provides a comfortable, secure grip with four ridges on the back of the bottle to help prevent slipping and breakage. During filling at Stroh's St. Paul MN, brewery, two lugs near the base help position the revolving bottle so that a modified Krones (Franklin, WI) labeler can apply a metallized paper label onto the front of the bottle, opposite the grips.
The Gripper will be sold within select markets in singles, as well as 6- and 24-packs. The company hints that the bottle will likely be used for other Stroh brands in the future. "We're excited to bring this totally new, user-friendly package to the market," says Victor Dzenowagis, Stroh's new products director.
Maybe this is the kind of thing that Anchor Glass CEO James R. Malone had in mind last February when he challenged the glass industry to show more initiative in R&D (see PW, April '95, p. 64).
Mead Packaging Div. Fax: 404/897-6383.
