Tabasco X Norman Rockwell

Ad Campaign

Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop

Tabasco x Norman Rockwell poster expansion

Project Brief

The challenge was to take three paintings by a single famous artist and seamlessly blend a modern product into each one. The goal was to build a realistic ad campaign where the product looks like it completely belongs there, matching the original artwork’s lighting, colors, and textures perfectly.

Project Solution

My campaign brings the classic Tabasco bottle into the everyday American scenes of Norman Rockwell. As a timeless kitchen staple, Tabasco fits naturally into Rockwell’s storytelling—looking less like an intrusion and more like it has always been on the table. This pairing is also rooted in shared heritage: Tabasco expanded across the country right as Rockwell’s career took off, meaning the iconic brand and the legendary artist grew up together.

Tabasco Logo

+

Norman Rockwell Signature

=

Joint logo + signature

Flat Ads

Poster 1

Poster 2

Poster 3

Visual Identity

Color Palette

Typography

PT Sans
regular: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 123456789
italic: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 123456789
bold: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 123456789

Process

Moodboard:

Ad Moodboard

Inspired by the nostalgia of classic Jell-O and Marlboro paper advertisements, this piece filters retro aesthetics through a clean, modern, and structured layout.

Design Process:

Step 1:To ensure maximum detail, I first built a hyper-realistic vector model of the iconic Tabasco bottle using Adobe Illustrator.

Vector outlines

Vector Drawing

Step 2:After placing the bottle into the Rockwell canvas, I digitally painted custom reflections, shadows, and environmental lighting to match the scene. Finally, I overlaid grainy oil-brush textures and adjusted the color layers, ensuring the modern product blended seamlessly into the historic, vintage environment.

Step 3: To tie the print campaign together, I designed a custom red layout block textured to look slightly aged and shiny, mimicking the glass and color of a Tabasco bottle. I placed the painting on top and anchored the bottom half with Tabasco’s iconic triangle logo and a simple tagline of “An American Original Since 1868”, turning the entire poster canvas into a visual extension of the product itself.

I picked the red and green colors because they are iconic to the Tabasco brand, while also looking cohesive with the Rockwell paintings. I chose the light muted yellow as a third color because it is seen in all the paintings and it works well with the vibrant red and green.

Expansions

3 poster expansion

Billboard expansion

Website expansion

Instagram expansion

Mug merchandise expansion

Packaging expansion

Tote merchandise expansion

SOPHIA CURTIS