19/09/17
Spinach creates La Vita Campari brand book for Campari
Branding
Campari is an exciting brand with a captivating story. Company heir Davide Campari was quite the maverick. In the early years of the 20th century, he set out to explore the potentials of arts and ideas in creating a strong, global brand. Eschewing conventions, Davide famously joined the artistic circles of the time, working with the avant-garde to create poster art, advertising, and packaging – much of which remains fresh and radical today.
The likes of Federico Fellini, Marcello Nizzoli, Leonetto Cappiello, Bruno Munari, the Italian Futurists, and in particular, the brilliant Fortunato Depero (inventor of the iconic Campari Soda bottle) feature in the archives. Today, the company continues its endorsement of the arts, most recently with The Great Beauty director Paolo Sorrentino for the Campari film The Killer in Red.
La Vita Campari is a journey into this unique brand. Designed, authored and photographed by Spinach Branding (the team behind the critically-acclaimed The Life Negroni), this is much more than a cocktail book. La Vita is a stylish brand book that celebrates arts and ideas – design, branding, advertising, pioneering people, classic cocktails.
Spinach visited Milan, the city in which Campari was born and remains so closely linked to. The team took on-location photography capturing Campari in its ideal setting, among the rich architecture in a city that is at once beautiful and brutal. For anyone who has visited Milan at aperitivo – when the bustling Italian city of art, design, and fashion raises a glass to celebrate the start of the evening – Campari’s distinctive vibrant red decorates almost every bar table in town.
Elsewhere, original poster art and advertising offer a glimpse into a brand immersed in the creative world. Photographed exclusively for this book, La Vita Campari introduces the main Campari cocktails – Milano Torino, Americano, Negroni, Boulevardier, Negroni Sbagliato, Milanese G&T and Campari Tonic. Readers discover their liquid history and learn how to make these classics with tips on creating their own perfect bar at home.
‘Campari has such an exciting history which I discovered when researching The Life Negroni,’ says Nargess Banks, ‘so I was extremely pleased to be asked by Spinach to write a book dedicated to this visionary brand. My highlight from our research trip to Milan has to be Galleria Campari, an incredible space with one of the richest collections of Italian Futurist art.’
La Vita Campari was unveiled at ‘Campari Creates‘ on a bespoke floating barge-bar stationed on the canal at Granary Square, King’s Cross as part of Design Junction and London Design Festival (16-24 September).
For Campari Creates, Spinach was commissioned to design a unique event brand identity to wrap the narrowboat. The studio also created a Campari-flavoured brand experience through menu design and event flyers. The design is a homage to Campari and the enduring style of Milan’s Navigli canal district. It celebrates the company’s historical links to the creative world. La Vita Campari will remain on exhibit here until the end of the festival.
Images: La Vita Campari © Spinach Branding for Campari.
Spinach Branding is a specialist branding agency based in London. We work with established businesses and start-ups around the world to build and refine their brands. See how we work and get in touch to discuss your brand.
