Happy Warhol-idays

This year Barneys New York built their Holiday 2006 promotion around the iconic Andy Warhol. Everything from clothing and shopping bags to mailers, gift cards and of course the famed windows had a Warhol theme. Their tagline Happy Andy Warhol-idays was quite catching, as was their Warhol quotes spilled throughout their holiday catalogue and website.

Warhol-inspired T-Shirts

Warhol Gift Cards

Their gift cards make definite collector's items as does all the other Warhol/Barneys infused paraphernalia, making this holiday campaign a very successful marketing campaign, perhaps their most interesting to date. Who doesn't want to keep a little Warhol or give a little Warhol?

It seems that even Campbell’s got in on the holiday spirit, as the company reproduced the infamous Warhol soup can. These limited edition cans (filled with real soup) will be sold exclusively at Barneys.

The Campbell's Warhol Soup Cans

Apparently (according to Barneys Creative Director Simon Doonan), Warhol was chosen because, “despite his major art-world standing, Andy had a distinctly frivolous side. He loved spending money. He loved shopping. He designed store advertising and reveled in it. He decorated store windows and proudly signed them! He is, in many ways, a kind of patron saint of American retail. For Andy, stores represented a kind of heaven on earth.”

I think the campaign was a fantastic idea. It was a great merge between art, fashion, commerce and history. A kind of merge I would like to see more of within the industry.

Not to mention this campaign also gave back. Barneys held a window installation of Warhol portraits done by the local children’s art program. 100% of the funds raised through the auction of these portraits will be donated to the program.

Children's potraits from The East Harlem School

Kudos to Barneys.

Click here to read Simon Doonan's account on the Warhol campagin.

Some of the store's Window Displays:


Photos: barneys.com, flickr.com