Side Salad: You’re Twistin’ My Melon, Man
June 11, 2026
Good morning from Dieline’s editor-in-chief, Bill McCool. Here’s your daily side serving of design news, short musings, brand stuff, and forgotten ephemera.
My grandmother wasn’t a very good cook, but there is still very much a part of me that longs to eat a dry chicken breast or pork chop smothered in Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup, because that was her game plan for dinner most nights, which was certainly a byproduct of her era (no disrespect, Connie!). The Campbells CREAM OF WHATEVER line certainly delivers on the convenience factor, but our tastes have also collectively evolved, and those flagship flavors feel immensely dated. It’s not the 1960s anymore, but what about a Thai Curry or a Butter Chicken Sauce? That I can get behind that (even though the pallet of coconut milk I have in my basement, purchased from Costco, is giving me side-eye as I type).
Daniel Mason and Matthew Cooper have designed special packaging for the reissue of the Happy Mondays’(best) album Pills ’N’ Thrills and Bellyaches. The limited-edition comes housed in a pill that comes with a rave whistle, acid blotter art, and a mock MDMA purity-testing kit. Chef’s kiss! Apparently, they based it on a barely-seen promotion for the 1990 album, packaged inside a first-aid kit complete with bandages and condoms.
Love that New York is saying that if your ad uses AI actors, the content must be labeled as having “synthetic performers.“ Now do this on a federal level.
Rudy interviewed Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul about Dos Hombres tequila, the brand he co-founded with Bryan Cranston, and his role as its creative director.
I genuinely had no idea men could get breast cancer.
The Heinz x Heinken 6-pack isn’t as galaxy-brained as most both brands would have us believe. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but Heinz doesn’t even bottle ketchup in glass.
“Celebrate Responsibly” doesn’t feel like the takeaway from the Coors Light “Tallerboy.” There are 14 Os there!
Ta-Ta, pals.
-Bill
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The Heinz point is so good because it's the question that should have been asked before the press release went out. Most brands are trying so hard to be smart that they forget wonder is way more interesting. That tall boy probably sells better than something designed by committee to be 'on brand.'