Coors Light is supporting its “cold-brewed” message with a set of new packages designed to keep refreshments chilled throughout football season. The brewer is building on the successful spring launch of its plastic cooler box—said to be the industry’s first ice-ready bottle package—with the introduction of an NFL-themed version that, like its predecessor, serves as a portable cooler. Consumers add ice to the container to chill the 16-ounce plastic bottles, which feature limited-edition labels with “pigskin” texturing. Coors also just launched two commemorative 24-ounce cans with NFL graphics and a nine-digit code that consumers enter via text messaging on a Coors web site for a chance to win prizes. The commemorative cans came to market on August 1, while the NFL-themed cooler box will be available beginning October 1.

Following the notable introduction of its Twist & Pour plastic paint containers, Sherwin Williams is now launching another packaging innovation in its Dutch Boy paint line: the Ready to Roll “project-sized” container. Holding 2.5 gallons of paint (enough to finish the average project), the container features a built-in tray that accommodates a standard roller and eliminates the mess that comes from pouring product into a separate tray. Consumers appreciate the integrated pour spout, the zipper-like locking mechanism on the lid, and the ergonomic handle that make for secure transport and storage, while retailers benefit from the container’s square shape: it facilitates easy stacking, offers more merchandising opportunities, and it’s compatible with existing tinting equipment. Package design and on-pack graphics were developed by Group 4 (www.groupfour.com) in Connecticut.

Bar mixes traditionally come packaged in longneck glass bottles, but El Paso Chile has thrown out tradition with its new Cocktail Chemistry line. The company has placed its three mixes into a martini-shaker-shaped PET bottle that came at the request of Target, which specified plastic for the package, not the glass El Paso uses in most of its product line. To seal the deal, El Paso turned to the Dallas office of Berlin Packaging (www.berlinpackaging) and the company’s Chicago-based Studio One Eleven design shop (www.studio111design.com), which collaborated to conceive, design and source elements for the 750 ml bottle in just two weeks. Creative features include a custom overcap that functions as a jigger and a stock dual-flap closure from Weatherchem (www.weatherchem.com) that serves as an ice strainer and pour spout. Rimming sugars are sealed into the inner cavity of the overcap.

Research told Bounty that consumers use newspapers or rags for window cleaning out of habit, or because they believe paper towels are not up to the task. In those findings, the brand saw an opportunity to develop Bounty Glass & Surfaces, a slightly heavier product; but the challenge was in developing an identity that would quickly communicate the new product’s benefits. According to LPK brand design strategist Russ Hickey (www.lpk.com), the solution came in borrowing the color blue from the window cleaning category. Hickey says the liberal use of the color on the package differentiates this new product from others in the Bounty line, and it (along with icons of a window and small appliance) signals the product’s application. The design agency also incorporated a clear window in the package to reveal the “window-pane” pattern on the towels, which further emphasizes the product’s intended use.

It was the last straw for the WD-40 Company, where research indicated that 80 percent of its customers had, at some time, lost the red straw that comes with a can of its lubricant. That’s why the company designed the Smart Straw; permanently attached to a can of WD-40, the straw allows the product to spray in two ways: as a precision stream for hard-to-reach jobs or, when the straw is folded down, through a wide-area sprayer for larger surface areas. This marks the second packaging innovation for the 52-year-old product, which is noted for its versatility (the company publishes a list of 2,000 uses): the Smart Straw follows the 2004 introduction of the WD-40 Big Blast can. Twelve-ounce cans of WD-40 SmartStraw hit retailers this spring.