Campbell’s Soup – and particularly its branding – had a strong impact on American popular culture. Famous for its bright red and white label and the ‘children’ (created by illustrator Grace Wiederseim Drayton), the branding became even more iconic when in 1962, Andy Warhol created his ’32 Campbell Soup Cans’, heralding the arrival of pop art.
Drayton drew for Campbell’s advertising for nearly twenty years. In the early days, her illustrations used on the labels depicted boys and girls, but over time they began to represent adult professions including policemen, sailors, and soldiers.
Campbell’s was a company ahead of its time in terms of production and marketing. John Dorrance, the nephew of Arthur Dorrance, who had taken over the company from Joseph Campbell in 1894, used the knowledge his chemistry degree and PhD gave him to reduce the water content of the company’s soups. The condensing saved costs in shipping, packaging, and storage and, in passing some of these savings on to the customers in the form of competitive pricing (a 10oz. can of condensed soup cost a 10 cents whereas a 32oz. can of traditional soup was 30 cents), made Campbell’s a household name. By 1922, soup was part and parcel of the American company and Campbell’s put “Soup” into its name.
In 1899, when the concept of mass advertising had yet to catch on, Campbell’s placed the first advertising on New York City streetcars. Sales of the soup increased by 100 per cent in the City. The first ads included a jingle promoting soup and a large illustration of a red-and-white can of Campbell’s soup.
Contribution to Retail History
The Campbell’s name is a classic example of how an iconic brand has survived the test of time since it was founded in 1869. Campbell’s Tomato Soup, which represents the epitome of branded packaging, marketing and advertising, remains one of the top 10 shelf stable foods sold today. The simple tomato soup, which is now a part of pop culture, illustrates how a brand subtly evolved over time, yet retained its defining characteristics while remaining relevant to consumer tastes and trends. With its tag line, “Real food that matters for life moments,” the company has a major presence at retail today with such brands as Pepperidge Farm, Goldfish, Arnott’s, Kjeldsens, Royal Dansk, V8, Bolthouse Farms, Plum, Swanson, Prego, and Garden Fresh Gourmet.