Campari unveils its 2015 Art Labels

Campari has unveiled this year’s limited edition Art Labels, featuring a sketch by Futurist artist Fortunato Depero, reimagined with the use of contemporary colours. The Art Label project was first launched in 2010 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the brand, and this year sees new three limited edition labels that reinterpret a sketch of a Campari pavilion designed in 1933 for an international exposition held in Milan.

The theme continues to focus on modern reinterpretations of artworks with the work of Fortunato Depero featured for a second successive year building on the success of 2014. The chosen sketch also proved to be the perfect choice for this year’s project, as the 2015 Universal Exposition (EXPO) is being held in Milan from May to October. Though the original pavilion featured in Depero’s 1933 sketch was never brought to life, a scale replica has been preserved to this day in the Galleria Campari, within the brand’s headquarters in Sesto San Giovanni, Milan.

It is also important to note that 2015 is also the International Year of Light a global initiative, which highlights to the citizens of the world the importance of light and optical technologies in their lives. It is for this reason that Campari decided to illuminate and add colour to what is originally a black and white sketch. Campari turned to Francesca Valan, an Italian colour expert and consultant who collaborates with X-Rite Pantone to help select the appropriate colours for the modernisation process.

The three new Art Labels were crafted as complementary colour schemes to generate maximum contrast, each with its own twist. The orange was matched with cyan, magenta with lime green and finally the purple background contrasted with yellow writing, all which resulted in a standout effect similar to that of a neon sign. Furthermore, the Campari red liquid was taken into consideration as a prominent background colour, which allows Depero’s futuristic sketch to jump out further and brings the labels effortlessly into the 21st century.

Thanks to Valan’s collaboration, the three final schemes play on highly saturated colour-ways (orange, pink and purple), purposely illuminating the pavilion in the same way a modern Depero would have chosen, were he alive today.

Ben Pick, senior brand manager for Campari comments: “The new labels are once again a tribute to Fortunato Depero, a truly remarkable artist with long standing links to the brand. The aim of this year’s labels was to reinterpret an art movement in a new and original way as well as pay homage to the brand’s tradition, celebrating its historic artistic connections. Using powerful and striking colours, Campari has strived to add an element of unexpected and intrigue into its brand and thoroughly recognisable bottle.”

Francesca Valan comments on her partnership: “I was delighted to collaborate with Campari on the 2015 Art Labels. Fortunato Depero is an artist I have the upmost respect for and it was a pleasure to help bring his design to life, giving it an unanticipated twist. The colours used add a graphic 3D dimension even in small scale. I hope that consumers lucky enough to own one of these limited edition pieces enjoy Depero and Campari’s collaboration as much as I enjoyed being part of it.”

2015 Art Labels will be distributed in 70cl bottles available from June.

23 June 2015 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Report, editor