The Birthday Party: promotional cake-box lid

This promotional cake-box lid advertising a gig by the Birthday Party in the Netherlands is a striking example of the band’s unconventional approach to marketing. The inventive choice of medium – a disposable cake box – underscores the group’s rejection of mainstream promotional formats in favour of something defiantly offbeat. The bold black-and-red design shows a child blowing out birthday candles, a darkly ironic image for a band whose music was anything but sweet. The visual concept aligns with the post-punk aesthetic of the band, which became a launching-pad for the careers of Nick Cave and Mick Harvey.