Tinned socks

67% cotton, 17% nylon, 14% polyester and 2% spandex: When you see such details on the back of a soup tin, it’s unlikely to be quite such a wonderful meal. And, in fact, it isn’t. Instead of some soup to warm you up, the tin contains a pair of socks to warm you up. The three different flavours Carrot & Coriander, Chunky Minestrone and Spring Vegetables aren’t actually aimed at your taste buds at all. Instead, they tell you something about the colours and design of the socks in the tin, which come in three versions: orange, red and green.

However, UK manufacturers aren’t the only ones with creative ideas. A very similar idea goes back to 2012 when the marketing specialists at Burlington came up with Argyle-patterned socks, each with a round metal rivet on the side, which since then have been repeatedly on offer as a Special Edition in Aluminium Tins, with resealable lids. Whether it’s for Christmas, with unusual reindeer antlers, as a comic in the style of Roy Lichtenstein or with a summery check pattern: this special packaging is both practical, as the tin can be reused for numerous other purposes, and it looks good. Burlington, a company in the Falke Group, has once again clearly demonstrated – as on previous occasions – that packaging for simple products such as socks needn’t be dull. Their popular foot warmers can be purchased in fake pieces of tin cake or in sandwich packaging. They can even be hung up on a Christmas tree, as special decorations – in little organza bags or indeed beautifully sparkling baubles.

The humble soup tin was already at the focus of public attention over 50 years ago. In 1962, Andy Warhol – probably the most prominent representative of American pop art culture – put 32 red-and-white Campbell soup tins on his canvas, thus helping the brand towards lasting fame. 50 years later, in 2012, the Campbell Soup Company celebrated this anniversary by issuing a new limited designer edition of their tomato soup. Working with the Andy Warhol Foundation, they adapted some elements of the original work of art and put his portrait and a quotation on each of their striking labels.