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Spalding's 'outrageous metal' box

XFL footballs from Spalding Sports Worldwide, Inc., kick up a notch the on-shelf presence of pigskin packaging. The Chicopee, MA, sporting goods company introduced a seven-item line of XFL footballs in late ’00, ahead of the league’s February debut.

Pw 17554 Football

The 12½’’x6½’’x5’’-box (for the $69.99 retail all leather game ball, shown) features a metal-like appearance, concave top and bottom panels, and fancy die cuts on the side panels.

Marketing’s directive to senior packaging specialist Alan Byrne was straightforward, he relates: “Do something outrageous that centers on the tagline ‘the toughest football ever.’ We wanted the package to look as much like metal as possible.”

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