The Absolut Vodka ad campaign is so well established and formulaic that it now seems as if any art director could develop a new ad in the series. Even Richard W. Lewis, author and account director, says, “Some people say we had an easy time.”
Which is to say the campaign is brilliant.
What is obvious when reviewing the beautifully reproduced ads in Absolut Book.: The Absolut Vodka Advertising Story is how well crafted they are, featuring interpretations by renown artists (Warhol), photographers (Newton), fashion designers (Piccone), and many more. (Some of the ads are featured in a video and .pdf file here.)
What is not so obvious until one looks behind the sheen is how brilliantly strategic the campaign is.
Absolut was unavailable in the U.S. before its launch in 1981. Common practice would have indicated a national TV campaign, but the Absolut brand was built with magazine advertising. The ad format was simple, a “bottle and a two-word headline.” No copy. The ads never addressed the attributes of the vodka itself, but rather focused on building awareness of the name and package.
Absolut was positioned as a premium brand and placed in trendsetting magazines. Only ad topics associated with “high value or an upscale activity” were selected.
Lewis’ team reached audiences demographically through their careful selection of publications, including some belonging to the counterculture. They targeted markets geographically by featuring cities in ads. They stayed fresh by commenting on current events such as Glasnost and the MLB strike.
The production team experimented with special-effect inserts, such as microchips, records, puzzles, postage stamps, scents, and snow globes. They developed custom ads for targeted publications, such as a digital-art interpretation of the Absolut bottle in Wired and a centerfold in Playboy. They “crowdsourced” ad ideas from readers before the practice had a name.
Still, after marveling at the stunning elegance of this campaign as presented in the book, there’s not much to learn — except that simplicity works.
The most successful communications tend to be the most concise, an opinion I have expressed in previous posts, “Less isn’t just more — it’s omnipotent,” “Speak less. Say more.” and “Why strong design is always on Target.” It’s a pleasure to see a brand stick with a simple recipe for nearly 30 years.
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