Vodka wars

I'm sure readers have been following the fuss and bother over the Reconquista advertisement for Absolut vodka that was published in Mexico recently. It showed the Mexican/US border adjusted to reallocate to Mexico the US states that were once part of that nation.




The advertising agency concerned, Teran/TWBA, apparently strives for "disruption" in their campaigns. To quote from their Web site:

Disruption is a tool for change and an agent of growth: a working methodology and a life view philosophy. It is the art of asking better questions, challenging conventional wisdom, and overturning assumptions and prejudices that get in the way of imagining new possibilities and visionary ideas that help create a larger share of the future.

Departure from a convention gives rise to Disruption: you are forced to think of another solution, a fresh idea, which in turn forces a positive reassessment of a company's offering.

We look for ideas with particular characteristics that move the brand faster towards its vision.

Disruptive ideas are inspiring, refreshing, daring ideas that defy market and category rules.

Um . . . well, if you say so, amigo. Apart from the fact that all that blurb is so much empty-headed New-Age-ish hot air, I suspect TTWBA have succeeded only in "disrupting" a large chunk of Absolut vodka's US market share! (Admittedly, their advertisement was produced for the Mexican market, but surely some bright spark in their Mexico City office must have foreseen the reaction in the USA? If not, it speaks very poorly indeed of their creative "talent" and business decision-makers!)

I've been watching the reactions with considerable interest. Right-wing bloggers in the USA have been frothing at the mouth with indignation. One of Michelle Malkin's contributors came up with a Photoshopped version of the ad showing the border restored to its proper place and a fence erected:




The reaction from Absolut's parent company in Sweden has been amusing. I'm sure they weren't even consulted about the Mexican ad, but its impact has had them rushing to implement whatever damage control they can.

“We’re really very sorry,” said Jacob Broberg, a spokesperson with Vin & Sprit, the company which manufactures the popular vodka brand . . . “The ad should never have been approved . . . We’ve really learned a lot from this experience . . . There is no such thing as a local ad in a global world . . . We’re working to improve our marketing practices so that nothing like this happens again in the future."

Meanwhile the company's entry on Wikipedia has been the subject of infuriated user edits (negative from the right wing, neutral if not positive from the left) and agonized hand-wringing by the management. There's a huge discussion on their editors message board which makes for interesting reading.

I also note many calls for a boycott of Absolut from those opposed to this ad - and a countervailing call from those sympathetic to the Reconquista for increased purchases of Absolut to counter the losses! Perhaps the cheekiest reaction has come from Skyy, producing an American vodka that competes with Absolut.

“Like SKYY Vodka, the residents of states like California, Texas and Arizona are exceptionally proud of the fact that they are from the United States of America,” said Dave Karraker, SKYY Vodka. “To imply that they might be interested in changing their mailing addresses, as our competitor seems to be suggesting in their advertising, is a bit presumptuous.”

I'm now waiting for the blogosphere's reaction to SKYY's tongue-in-cheek news release. Who knows? Perhaps the Wiccan blogs will now call on their readers to conduct their rituals SKYY-clad!



Peter