Weird consumer survey

I am a member of a couple of consumer research panels; mainly because I retain an interest in what consumer marketers are up to. I just did one that was obviously for a reasonably well known brand of Canadian Whiskey. What I found odd, and a little bit disconcerting, is that the whole thing was focussed on minor cosmetic differences in packaging design. I don't know about you but just about the last thing I consider when buying whiskey is the packaging. Brand managers with too much time on their hands i suppose.