Stickers With A-Peel. Chiquita Banana Design Contest & A Little Brand History.

above: 6 of the 18 winning designs, all of which are shown later in this post

"I'm a Chiquita Banana and I've come to say...." Okay, most of my readers are probably too young to remember the legendary jingle, so I'll just get to the point.

The Chiquita brand just ran a design contest in an effort to both refresh the brand and elicit consumer engagement. They asked people to submit new designs for the stickers that are placed on their bananas, which they have been doing since 1963. Note that you can still use their sticker generator to create your own online sticker and then purchase that design from Zazzle.


above: the current Chiquita brand sticker was designed in 1986

Each entrant was limited to submitting no more than 25 designs. The designs had to be on a white background and in the classic Chiquita sticker shape and could not use "Miss Chiquita", the brand mascot, in any way, shape or form. Entries had to include the outer blue ring and the design had to be contained within what they term "the yellow racetrack."


above: the company mascot, Miss Chiquita, as the 1944 version by Dik Browne and the current version drawn in 1987 by Oscar Grillo, was not allowed in the new sticker designs

50 designs were selected as finalists based on the following criteria
* Creativity (30%)
* Visual impact (30%)
* The extent to which the sticker embodies the following five Chiquita brand attributes :Fun, Family-friendly, Youthful, energetic, Fresh (25%)
* The extent to which the sticker can be recognized as a Chiquita banana sticker (15%)

A person could have no more than one design in the 50 finalists which were then posted on the sticker-contest website. The public was then invited to vote for their favorite sticker design.


above: 8 worthy finalists designs that did not make it into the winning 18

Before I show you the 18 winning sticker designs, here's a little brand and sticker history:

Miss Chiquita was introduced in 1944 and Chiquita was the first company to brand a banana. The idea of the stickers came along in 1963 and believe it or not, they are still put on by hand so as not to bruise the fruit.


above: The brand used posters like this one from 1950 before putting stickers on the bananas.

The very first drawing of Miss Chiquita in 1944 and stickers from 1963 to the present:


Now, the 18 final winning designs which will be appearing on bananas in November.












Be sure to see all 50 finalists because there were some great designs that should have made it into the final 18. See all 50 finalists here

Go here to learn more about the winning designs.

Newcastle Brown Ale Invites You To Design Your Own Label

above: six examples of submissions to the contest

Newcastle Brown Ale, America’s No. 1 imported ale, recently announced the launch of its “Your Beer. Your Label.” program. Aimed at celebrating the personality of its fans, Newcastle is turning its label into a blank canvas for adult consumers to change their individual bottles into a one-of-a-kind artistic expression. Consumers may use any type of tool – pencil, paint or computer – to create their unique label.



Digital labels submitted through the microsite will be considered during the designer search, with the chosen concept featured prominently on the Newcastle Brown Ale Web site.


above: the actual Newcastle Brown Ale label

“The Newcastle logo, with its unusual ‘cottage loaf’ shape and its iconic blue star, has inspired hundreds of photo collages and tattoo designs. We’re encouraging Newcastle drinkers to tailor individual labels with their own uniquely different, personalized touches,” said Colin Westcott-Pitt, Brand Director, Newcastle Brown Ale. “Our online program gives fans a chance to show off their artistic skills and, for one designer, on our Web site. We expect our judging panel will be inspired by the variety of designs our fans will submit.”

For designs to be considered, U.S. consumers 21 and older must submit their digital concepts on NewcastleBrown.com before March 14, 2010. After the entry period, fans are encouraged to vote for their favorite design until March 30, 2010.

The 10 designs with the largest number of votes will be judged by Newcastle team members on the basis of creativity, originality and brand personality. The selected designer will have their label prominently showcased on Newcastle’s Web site.



For additional rules, a template to download or just to get started, please visit here

Newcastle Brown Ale Invites You To Design Your Own Label

above: six examples of submissions to the contest

Newcastle Brown Ale, America’s No. 1 imported ale, recently announced the launch of its “Your Beer. Your Label.” program. Aimed at celebrating the personality of its fans, Newcastle is turning its label into a blank canvas for adult consumers to change their individual bottles into a one-of-a-kind artistic expression. Consumers may use any type of tool – pencil, paint or computer – to create their unique label.



Digital labels submitted through the microsite will be considered during the designer search, with the chosen concept featured prominently on the Newcastle Brown Ale Web site.


above: the actual Newcastle Brown Ale label

“The Newcastle logo, with its unusual ‘cottage loaf’ shape and its iconic blue star, has inspired hundreds of photo collages and tattoo designs. We’re encouraging Newcastle drinkers to tailor individual labels with their own uniquely different, personalized touches,” said Colin Westcott-Pitt, Brand Director, Newcastle Brown Ale. “Our online program gives fans a chance to show off their artistic skills and, for one designer, on our Web site. We expect our judging panel will be inspired by the variety of designs our fans will submit.”

For designs to be considered, U.S. consumers 21 and older must submit their digital concepts on NewcastleBrown.com before March 14, 2010. After the entry period, fans are encouraged to vote for their favorite design until March 30, 2010.

The 10 designs with the largest number of votes will be judged by Newcastle team members on the basis of creativity, originality and brand personality. The selected designer will have their label prominently showcased on Newcastle’s Web site.



For additional rules, a template to download or just to get started, please visit here