Crush for Tropicana

Tropicana fruit juice is a staple of many American breakfast tables, even after an ill-advised redesign in 2009 that baffled consumers and resulted in a swift reinstatement of the previous packaging.

Now to promote the bottled version as an ‘on the go’ drink for commuters, DDB commissioned Brighton-based Crush Creative, through Agency Rush, to design customised interiors for subway trains on New York’s 42nd St Shuttle. “We really wanted the illustrations to have a playful and bright energy,” explains Carl Rush from Crush. “The work is based on our own folio style, but makes sure the piece is unique for Tropicana.”

Running above carriage windows, across seating and onto the insides of the carriage doors, Crush’s upbeat, geometric designs are based around the annoyances that urban commuters typically face on their daily journeys, from noisy roadworks and aggressive pigeons to delay-causing traffic jams and – for the real commuting curmudgeons – carnival parades.

Working from general concepts supplied by DDB, Crush fleshed out the ideas with illustrations in the juice brand’s vivid, fruit-inspired colours. After the initial test images had been approved, the rest of the project had to be completed over a long weekend: “There wasn’t a whole lot of time for experimentation on this project,” recalls Rush.

Read more about this project, along with a myriad of other top creative campaigns, in issue 193 of Computer Arts magazine, on sale Friday 23 September in the UK.