German Soap Customizing Contest Gets Dirty

Pril is a brand of German dishwashing detergent. They recently tried to use social media to crowdsource new package designs for two limited edition bottles. The campaign was entitled Mein Pril – Mein Stil (“My Pril – My Style”), and the winners are in, but they aren’t the ones the public chose. Of some 50,000 entries, Pril’s people picked the leopard print design (above left) and the business attire design (above right) as their winners. Regarding the former, which is called “Prrrrril – beastly good mood,” Pril explains (via Google translation): “the leopard design embodies the highest and fastest fat dissolving power and brings new life into Germany’s kitchens”. Regarding the latter, which is called “Mr. Pril,” Pril says it’s a “reliable helper, you can rely on at any time. With a suit and tie is he the detergent case.” I couldn’t have said it better myself! Oh wait…

Some of the contest entries are a little…rough…in an MS-Paint kind of way. Interestingly, it’s the “amateur” designs that won the popular vote, at which point, Pril amended the rules, eventually crowning the more family-friendly winners. According to a BoingBoing commenter, the German soap company did in fact produce a small run of the PRIIIIIIIIIL design (below left), and these were quickly snapped up on eBay. Unfortunately for dirty dishes (and dirty minds), the “Tastes like chicken” design (below right) was not produced. But you can read an interview with the designer here.

[You might also enjoy this story about the post-post-post pop bottles of Neil Wax.]