Pop reconstituted on Campbell’s cans

In an unusual case of life imitating art that imitated life, Campbell Soup Co. is replacing the classic red-and-white labels on some of its tomato soup cans with multihued designs inspired by the Campbell’s artwork of Andy Warhol.

It’s only a test marketing at this point, with the four new labels available beginning this weekend at Giant Eagle supermarkets in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland.

Campbell’s wants to gauge consumer reaction before undertaking a national rollout of what could be a shock to the system. The company said this is the first time in more than 100 years that the soup has gone out with anything but the traditional red-and-white labels.

It was that tradition that Warhol was playing with when he created his famous Pop Art paintings in the early 1960s. The labels Campbell’s is using now are based on four of his silk-screens: aqua and indigo, gold and yellow, pink and orange, and green and red. Each label will carry the artist’s signature.

Campbell’s spokeswoman Juli Mandel Sloves said the company has a long history of working with the Andy Warhol Foundation on various events. The decision to merge their two interests so directly was made simply to try a “fun and creative” marketing concept, she said.

“We do want to let consumers know that inside the can is the same great soup. We haven’t changed anything except the label.”