Museum of Branding, Packaging and Advertising set to relaunch

London’s Museum of Branding, Packaging and Advertising has relocated and expanded with more exhibition space and learning opportunities.

The West London museum is home to 12,000 original branded items dating back to the 1800s.

200 years of items

The museum says its collection is based on a “treasure trove of retro design and memories”, from First World War Oxo cubes to 1970s chopper bikes.

It was previously based in Ladbroke Grove for 10 years, and has now relocated to Notting Hill, where it opened in October last year, and is set to reveal redesigned exhibition spaces this March. The renovation project took roughly six months to complete.

A chronological journey of brands

The new space will see see more room for exhibitions and a revamped “Time Tunnel”.

The updated “Time Tunnel” will give visitors a walking experience that will teach them about changing trends through the ages, such as the rise of branding and marketing, the evolution of magazines and newspapers, and the launch of cinema, radio and television.

Other exhibition spaces will look at British brands through their packaging, brand origins through telling their stories, and innovations in packaging, focusing on the conflict between a need to make attractive packaging and to reduce production costs.

New conference and teaching space

The relaunch also includes a revamped conference venue, and learning areas where the museum will offer hour-long creative sessions on weekdays, sponsored by the DS Smith Charitable Foundation. There will also be a new museum café and garden.

The museum’s manager Theresa Macaulay says: “The new space is four times as big as the previous location, and opens up a lot of opportunities for us. It’s bright and airy, and the new dedicated learning area is one of the most exciting things, as we can expand on what is already our remit.”

Founded by historian Robert Opie

The Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising receives charitable funding from packaging company DS Smith and alcoholic drinks company Diageo, alongside grants from the John Lyon’s Charity and the Garfield Weston Foundation.

The museum has been curated by historian Robert Opie, and is based on his own collection which he has built up over the last 50 years.

Following a successful exhibition of Opie’s collection at the V&A in the 1980s, a permanent museum was opened in Gloucester in 1984. It then moved to London in 2005.

The Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising will relaunch on 25 March 2016.

Discover more:

• “We show the things others chuck out” – Robert Opie’s Museum of Brands and Packaging