Digging deep

‘I was having a glass of Chilean wine, just after the miners had been rescued when it struck me; someone’s missing a trick here,’ says Unreal designer Ryan Tym.

Not content with the idea of designing and sending Xmas cards, Unreal has designed a Chilean wine concept and packaging for ‘Chilean Winers’ based on the 68 day entombing and struggle for survival of 33 miners. The wine is not for sale and a limited-edition run of 33 bottles is being sent out to key contacts.

The complete set of wines
The complete set of wines

Tym refutes the idea that the project might be seen as in dubious taste though. ‘It’s a light hearted Christmas gift based on the good news story of the year,’ he says.

The 33 bottles – one for every miner – have been designed with the same identity but each has been named and numbered after a different miner in the order they were rescued and has details of their story on the reverse.

The front of the Chilean Winers bottle
The front of the Chilean Winers bottle

Information includes the stories of Edison Pena who is believed to have run 10km per day underground and Claudio Yanez who asked for tobacco but received nicotine patches.

A continuous ‘I’ runs through the words ‘Chilean’ and ‘Winers’ on the main label to delineate their position underground and route of rescue. 

The tube based on the Fenix 2 rescue capsule
The tube based on the Fenix 2 rescue capsule

Packaged in a tube representing the Fenix 2 rescue capsule, every effort has been made to ensure the full story is told. ‘It’s been topped up with gravel which you have to dig away to get to the wine,’ says Tym.

He continues, ‘As recipients dig out their wine, they reveal a replica of the message sent up to rescuers which exclaimed “Estamos bien en el refugio los 33” meaning “We are okay in the refuge, the 33 of us.”’

The front of the Chilean Winers bottle
The front of the Chilean Winers bottle

A website with more details of the project www.chileanwiners.com will go live next week.

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Comments
  • Francisco Bernal November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    I hope the designer was less careless with the spelling than you guys are… It is YAÑEZ not YANEZ. There is a big difference!

  • Damon Richardson November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    oh for gods sake….

  • Andi Rusyn November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Nothing like cashing in on the suffering of others!

    Although all the miners were eventually rescued it really should be remembered they were entombed for 68 days during which not only they, but large numbers of family and friends, suffered the incessant torment of not knowing how their story would end. This was very nearly a tragedy – it’s only thanks to the immense efforts of the Chilean authorities that the ending was a happy one.

    In my humble opinion kidnapping such a story of suffering and bravery for self-promotion is in shockingly bad taste (‘digging’ the bottle out of the rescue capsule!). Using it for a related cause would be fair enough. Anything else is crossing the line. And, aside from its linguistic cringe-worthiness, I’m sure the miners would be over the moon at being called ‘Chilean Winers’! Let’s hope they never find out.

  • nik c November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    I actually do think this is in bad taste.

  • Ciaran Horrex November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Stunningly executed, the depth of thought that’s gone into it is as ever testament to Unreal’s creative process – though I’m an Unreal advocate.

    However, the devil in me can’t help but see it as a bit of a “cash in” to the whole story. It feels irrelevant to Christmas or the design discipline.

    If this was done on behalf of the engineers who created the capsule, or a bottle was sent to the miners themselves as part of the “Christmas Spirit” it would maintain greater pertinence.

  • Mahbir November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Unreal,
    I had looked at your website and compared to a lot of London agencies, you’ve produced some innovative ideas. But like the Liberal Democrats, you’ve just made a stupid, stupid move.

  • Pat November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Oh yeah, when I think of Christmas the first thing I think of are Chilean Miners suffering in a mine…

    Maybe you should cut back on the wine or the ideas (or a mixture of both) – Whats next min(c)e pies…

  • Michael Brown November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    The most important question to ask: Is the wine any good?

  • Ravi Juneja November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    How cute.

    What an utter Jeremy Hunt.

  • Ravi Juneja November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    How cute.

    What an utter Jeremey Hunt.

  • Lisa Stewart November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Initially, I got queasy about this -the whole ‘cashing in’ on someone else’s pain. Bad Karma. If they all hadn’t been rescued then yes, definitely poor taste.

    I have to hope that any portion of the sales proceeds will go the miners, their families, or any recovery effort.

  • Julia Dobson November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Please lock Ryan Tym in a dark room for 68 days.
    Thanks.

  • JM November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    I think that if the wine were being sold this might be different but really it’s a commorative piece that is trying to mark the success of the miner’s rescue and tell their story so i’m surprised by the harsh comments.

    An alternative christmas message to send to clients is a nice change form the usual santa hats on staff type of card! It looks as if lots of thought has gone into the design to reference the story of each of the miners and their rescue too.

  • Rob Woodward in Chile November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    I found this bad taste. All for design? I think not.

    Cashing in on what the miners suffered from the comfort of a chair behind a computer screen as you are out to make a quick buck… not good.

    Will the miners, those that actually suffered, receive a percentage of sales? Somehow I don’t think so.

    What would happen if a wine were designed for a similar event in the UK?
    This was done out of ignorance and lack of respect from the safety of being in a country on the opposite side of the world that you know so little about. What? You can’t even spell the names correctly?

    Maybe the designer should be lowered down the mine and he/she would learn to have more respect… and then should be left there!

  • Damian November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Oh for Christ’s sake. Why is everyone so uptight? There is no ‘cashing in’ going on here. Just a funny play on words and a good bit of design. This is a feel-good gift at a feel-good time time of year. It celebrates the miners and goes out of its way to ensure their heroic story is told (and in some detail) Let’s face it, the real cashing in is going to be when the movie comes out.Lighten up everybody. It’s Christmas.

  • demagalhaes November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    As a Chilean Designer all i can say is: i would rather prefer a Wikileaks Wine 😉 (there you got 250.000 cables you can put inside the packaging, when you finish your wine you can put the cable inside the bottle, and drop it to the sea)

  • Annette Baeza November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Lighten up everyone. Knowing the Chilean love of life and appreciation for wine I think the rescued miners would be honored by this tribute to them and the fact that someone in the U.S. took the time and effort this required. They all want to be remembered. Even if they sell this wine that’s OK. I’d buy bottles representing my favorites, Edison Pena and Mario Sepulveda. I have no other way of reaching out to them. What’s so wrong? Lighten up and don’t look to complicate everything!! I admire the creativity and execution of a “harmless” plan.

  • Unreal November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    It’s clear from a number of recent comments that there is a degree of misunderstanding about the article.

    We wish to make it clear that these bottles are not for sale and the article has now been amended to highlight this point.

    The wines were produced as a one-off set of 33 individual bottles to be sent out to clients and key contacts only. We felt this made a creative alternative Christmas gift and saw it as celebrating the good news story of the year.

  • Scott Elmes November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Cheers unreal for clarifying.

    However as a piece of design it is a great play on an already set concept.

    And the idea of never selling the wine should not be ruled out.
    As many have already said, if the miners were contacted about it and a large percentage went to them, (im not being rude) but i reckon they would be happy to a receive a monthly cheque form the profits.

    Heavens know they don’t want to back down the mine making their wage when others can make far much more for them, and their families buy “cashing in” on an ordeal that they suffered.
    After all i don’t think they will be putting themselves back into a position where could happen again.

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