Pour it into a glass and it's a pale yellow fizzy liquid that smells of pubs. Stick it in this bottle and it's a work of dedication, the love of artisan made real in form of robust homespun humility and industry to be savoured. Semiotics says check the symbols for meaning. So all the obvious stuff is there to connote authenticity and people who care. Scrolling text, earthy solid colours and bottle weight and shape - it's something you have to properly hold suggesting weight and substance - not to be taken lightly. It's all very obvious but it works. All very natural and solid - kegs, sketchily illustration style, big caps for no-nonsense, and scripted name of brand for family owned.
Does it make a difference? Yes, as obvious as the brand behaviour might be, it works to convey a tone for the brand - implying a character and personality. The bottle makes an impression the product can't. It's not just packaging but the managing of subtle messages in the design of graphic design and form. Object as media because everything is media - often overlooked in communications is the power of semiotics to hep us figure out the science of deciphering what culture means in the way it behaves.
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