3 Responses to “Absolut finally realizes it messed up”

1. Eric M. Weaver, Sr. Says:
   April 7th, 2008 at 8:55 am

   “We didn’t think any Americans would see it. We got caught. Sorry.” -Absolut

2. clayj Says:
   April 7th, 2008 at 9:04 am

   Here’s the exchange I had with one of their reps yesterday:

   Them:

   Dear Clay,

   We understand your concerns and we are sorry that you feel the way you feel. This was not our intention, as we try to explain in our statement. Though you may not agree, I hope you understand.

   The In An Absolut World advertising campaign invites consumers to visualize a world that appeals to them — one they feel may be more idealized or one that may be a bit “fantastic.” As such, the campaign will elicit varying opinions and points of view. We have a variety of executions running in countries worldwide, and each is germane to that country and that population.

   This particular ad, which ran in Mexico, was based upon historical perspectives and was created with a Mexican sensibility. In no way was this meant to offend or disparage, nor does it advocate an altering of borders, nor does it lend support to any anti-American sentiment, nor does it reflect immigration issues. Instead, it hearkens to a time which the population of Mexico may feel was more ideal.

   As a global company, we recognize that people in different parts of the world may lend different perspectives or interpret our ads in a different way than was intended in that market. Obviously, this ad was run in Mexico, and not the US — that ad might have been very different.

   Best regards,
   Erika Gelinder
   Consumer contacts
   V&S Absolut Spirits

   Me:

   Hello Erika,

   As the old saying goes, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” I don’t really care what your intention was; I care what you did. Do you understand that there is no such thing as a “local” ad campaign anymore? When you run an ad in one place, everyone everywhere will almost certainly get to see it. The attitude that your company displays in one country applies in all countries: You can’t run an ad in Mexico that basically spits on the United States and then turn around and say to us, “What we do in Mexico doesn’t matter here in the United States.” It sure as hell does.

   Since it sounds like you are not American, you apparently don’t understand what a big deal an ad like this is to those of us in the United States. We have 20 million or so illegal immigrants in this country, most of them from Mexico and other Central American countries, and many of them belong to racist groups with names like “La Raza” (literally: “The Race” — sounds sort of like a Nazi name, doesn’t it?) which have a stated goal of taking parts of the Southwestern United States, by force if necessary, and making them part of Mexico or a new nation called Aztlan. The map you published in your ad is just the sort of propaganda they like to use, and as such, it is extremely offensive to many Americans, including myself.

   Perhaps for an encore, you can run an “In an Absolut World” ad in Norway and Denmark which shows Nazi soldiers marching down the streets of Stockholm while the Swedes look impassively on. (Norwegians and Danes fought the Nazis. Swedes did not. As you can see from my name, I am descended from Swedes. Right now I am not particularly proud of that fact, thanks to you.) Or you could run an “In an Absolut World” ad in China which shows Chinese soldiers shooting Tibetans. Or you could run an “In an Absolut World” ad in Israel which depicts Muslims as barbaric wife-beaters and suicide bombers. I’m sure many Norwegians and Danes and Chinese and Israelis would consider such ads just as amusing as you think your Mexican ad is to Mexicans, but any of these ads are a bad idea because at their root, they are offensive to those depicted in the ads.

   Face it: You all screwed up with this offensive ad. And now you have to pay for that mistake. The bell cannot be unrung.

   I would suggest that in the future, you avoid putting political statements that have international implications in your ads. As far as I am concerned, though, you can do whatever you like: I am done with Absolut, and I am making sure to tell every bartender and bar owner I know why they should stop carrying your products (all of them, not just Absolut). You may pick up a few racist Mexican vodka drinkers, but you just lost yourself a bunch of patriotic American vodka drinkers with your clever little ad. (And there are a lot more vodka drinkers in the US than there are in Mexico.)

   So again, congratulations. If you were looking for a way to reduce your consumer base, you almost could not have found a better way to do it.

   Clay Johanson

   Following their logic, we could also expect to see “In an Absolut World” ads in which slaves are still picking cotton in the South in 2008; women being turned away from voting places; “undesirables” being forced to work in concentration camps; and other similar garbage that some people still fantasize about. Personally, I’d be happy with an “In an Absolut World” ad in which the Absolut distillery is seen to be boarded up and falling down due to neglect after they go out of business.

3. Jon Ham Says:
   April 7th, 2008 at 10:25 am

   Wow! Don’t they realize what a can of worms they open when they base ad campaigns on asking people “to visualize a world that appeals to them”?

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