Campbell's Beef Soup Cocktails

In 1955, Campbells sent a load of what could just be described as cans of soup and ice buckets. These soup cocktails actually appeared on menus in Los Angeles and New York. And it was all the way up until the 1970s. They were saying that this is something you could even add bitters or vodka. But the main benefit was soup over ice. It's so disgusting. Did they have a massive surplus or something? Whether they were trying to shift or was it?