Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 22, 2009 in
Design,
Hobbies and Collections 
We’ve all grown up with the Bazooka Joe gimmick: Half the fun of opening the single package of gun was to read the comic tucked inside. And of course the Cracker Jacks version is to give you a secret surprise inside the box — a technique that cereal companies turned into a fine art (not to forget McDonald’s Happy Meals as well). However today I leaned a twist on this old marketing hook thanks to an imported Japanese pack of Doraemon gum. Upon opening my gum I discovered that each individual wrapper had a unique design based on the well known anime cat: Read more…
Tags: Anime, Japan, Japanese Package Design
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 17, 2009 in
Hobbies and Collections 
My latest conquest from my local Asian grocery was the Chocolate Cookie: Meiji Takenoko No Sato Cheesecake and I have to say that I was quite impressed with my choice. Inside the package were seven individually wrapped white chocolate covered cookies that tasted amazing. I didn’t quite get the taste of cheese cake, but the cookies did have a nice vanilla flavor to them (the way the chocolate cookie title in this case was misleading). As for the package design I’ve seen more playful solutions before, but I do love the beatnik chocolate mushroom cartoon characters that adorned the box: Read more…
Tags: Japan, Japanese Package Design
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 14, 2009 in
Design,
Hobbies and Collections 
I had such high hopes for the Meiji Poporon Strawberry Cookie but alas even with my sweet tooth I couldn’t eat more than just a few of these bite sized saccharine treats. They have puffy wheat outside and a super sweet strawberry filling on the inside as shown in the packaging. And as for the packaging it was slick, but I was a bit let down at the lack of cute illustrations that would have given it that extra something: Read more…
Tags: Japan, Japanese Package Design
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 13, 2009 in
Animation,
Hobbies and Collections 
It’s always amazing to me what gems people can save from another era: In this case this vintage box of Meiji Creamy Candy from the 70s features a powerful Kimba the White Lion theme on the packaging. The strong use of primary colors really gives this little box a powerful roar: Read more…
Tags: Anime, Japan, Japanese Package Design, Kimba the White Lion
