Andy Warhol’s famous Campbell’s Soup Cans were meant to subverted norms of originality in art piece’s originality, with the artist claiming that “everyone paints the same picture over and over again.”

But Campbell’s is using that art to do something a little different in the shopper space, celebrating its 60-year relationship with the artist at shelf, launching limited edition soup cans inspired by Warhol.

The CPG is paying tribute to pop art, as well as playing on the artist’s supposed fondness for eating soup (which, like Andy Warhol’s statement “in the future, everyone will be world famous for 15 minutes” is likely apocryphal).

The SKUs were produced under license from the New York City-based Andy Warhol Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation that promotes the visual arts and offers grants to museum curatorial programs and artist organizations.

Taking inspiration from the late artist, the four bright and colourful pastel labels are available nationally in the Campbell’s Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup and Tomato flavours, its two most popular and well-known varieties.

According to Sarah Broomfield, director of marketing at Campbell Canada, there are end cap displays and display cards, complete with a 3D feel and stopping power that she says will certainly get noticed at shelf.

The infusion of bright colours is key to bringing this message to life, and Broomfield says it was also part of staying true to what would’ve been Warhol’s vision. The idea behind the rollout, she says, is to inspire Canadians to find simple ways to make their everyday “pop,” a term which is literally called out at shelf in a different colour.

“Knowing it’s been a challenging year, we are now more than ever, looking for ways to be inspired and having moments of joy and fulfillment in our day,” Broomfield says.

She tells strategy it is celebrating a longstanding association with Warhol that’s been valuable to the brand and one it’s very grateful for.  

“It’s a collectors item we are encouraging consumers to take home,” Broomfield says, calling the LTO rollout “affordable pop art.”

And while Broomfield says it’s very important to have an in-store component to entice consumers mid-aisle, the social aspect is also a key program driver.

To that end, Campbell’s is amplifying the LTO with what Broomfield says is the brand’s biggest influencer campaign to date: it is challenging other visual artists to find colourful, everyday inspiration from the limited edition cans and produce their very versions of pop art-inspired content.

Each creator will release their original pop art creations inspired by the cans on their social media channels this month with the hashtag #CampbellsxWarhol, and a digital art gallery hosted by lifestyle website Refinery29 will be home to a selection of the works produced from the campaign, going live next week.

“It’s actually new partnership for us, and the intent is to find a relevant place to showcase and house all the amazing influencer content created,” Broomfield says.

Proof Strategies managed all the influencer partnerships and PR to promote the program, while Mars handled all POS/in-store activation.