A package protects, promotes, and sets a product apart. This new feature looks at how iconic packages took shape.

Absolut bottle

• Introduced: 1979
• Design concept: Hans Brindfors, Gunnar Broman, and Lars-Börje Carlsson, Carlsson & Broman
• Material: Glass

How Swede it is: When Lars Lindmark became CEO of Vin & Sprit, Sweden’s government-owned wine and liquor company, in 1974, he wanted to boost exports, specifically to the US market.

So the company began to develop a premium vodka that would derive its name from Absolut Rent Brännvin (translation: Absolute Pure Vodka), which had been introduced in Sweden nearly a century earlier, in 1879.

The assignment of designing a bottle for Absolut Vodka went to Carlsson & Broman, a Stockholm-based advertising and design agency. Premium vodkas like Stolichnaya had a standard approach then. “Vodka at the time was typically packaged in tall bottles with large crimson labels, an abundance of crests, and Russian-sounding names,” wrote Carl Hamilton in the Advertising Age Encyclopedia of Advertising in 2002.

But the agency steered in the opposite direction. Gunnar Broman, the creative director, drew inspiration from an apothecary bottle he spotted in the window of a Stockholm antique shop, according to company accounts.

Hans Brindfors, the agency’s art director, designed the uncharacteristically stout bottle. And he took the unusual step of forgoing any paper label, instead printing the name of the brand in blue letters directly on the bottle. Smaller black type described the brand’s Swedish heritage.

The bottle was new and it was bold and the Swedes boarded a plane to the US to woo prospective importers.

But unlike that flight, the bottles, in those early days, just didn’t take off.

Keep reading here.—AAN

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas—unless it’s a luxury shopping splurge. The city has seen several luxury store openings over the past few years that, in true Las Vegas fashion, are only getting bigger and flashier by the moment.

Diptyque, for instance, last month became the latest luxury brand to announce its plans to expand its presence in the city, joining the ranks of Gucci and Fendi, both of which have opened new stores in the region this year.

So just what makes Sin City a growing luxury hotspot? Basically, a lot of travelers with a lot of money to spend. “If you’re there on business for a conference, it’s a great place to say, ‘Okay, well let me just do a little bit of luxury shopping,’ and if you’re there on holiday, to enjoy the shows and [gamble], you are in a different world,” Marie Driscoll, managing director of luxury and fashion at Coresight Research, told Retail Brew. “The sun never sets, the restaurants and gambling tables are open all night long. You walk out feeling like, ‘Where can I spend my winnings? Or maybe I better spend something before I lose more money.’”

Suffice to say most of the big spenders that the luxury brands are hoping to target are in fact, tourists as opposed to locals. Per Carly Shapiro, manager at Alvarez & Marsal consumer retail group, the shoppers represent a mix of both national and international tourists who are “looking to make money and spend money.”

Keep reading here.—JS

Today’s top retail reads.

Shop ’til you drop: While the US remains the poster child for mass consumption, shopping patterns and consumer choices have defined American public life. (the Wall Street Journal)

Keeping it simple: As consumer acquisition costs continue to skyrocket, brands are finding it’s safer to bet on their loyal customers. (Business of Fashion)

Say it like you mean it: In a world full of marketing gimmicks and carefully orchestrated social media strategies, the CEO of a pottery company in Asheville is turning heads with her candidness and transparency. (the New York Times)

Side-sleep savior: You can call off the search for the perfect pillow. Marlow created the holy grail, complete with cooling-infused memory foam and a 100% cotton antimicrobial shell. Get 40% off bundles + 10% off your first order.*

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Three of the stories below are real...and one is most definitely not. Can you spot the fake?

1. Hot Pockets released limited-edition cargo shorts with an insulated pocket that keeps the Hot Pocket, well…hot.
2. A Florida woman sued Kraft Heinz alleging Velveeta’s microwavable Shells and Cheese takes longer than advertised to cook.
3. Miller High Life has released a High Life Leg Lamp Beer Tower that you can actually drink from.
4. Taco Bell has introduced a set of extra loose pajamas so consumers can get “stuffed” on its holiday tacos.

Keep reading for the answer.

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