Absolut Vodka - The Bottle Campaign

1. THE BOTTLE
CAMPAIGN
For Prof. Bhupesh Shah
By Sajin Thomas

2. THE ABSOLUT INFO
• Absolut Rent Branvin was founded by Lars Olsson Smith in 1879.
• It was only sold in Sweden for a century before it hit the global market in 1979.
• In 1979 Absolut Vodka was launched in the US Market.
• Available in over 150 countries
• Fourth largest spirit brand in the world.

3. ABSOLUT BOTTLE AD
CAMPAIGN
• The first marketing campaign of Absolut.
• It started in 1979 and successfully ran for over 25 years.
• Their main objective was to make their bottle shape
unforgettable.
• It ended up to be one of the famous marketing
campaigns which ever existed.
• Absolut won over 350 awards for this campaign.
• Absolut went out of its way to avoid head-to-head
comparisons with rival brands. Instead, the positioning
strategy relied on the promise of an entirely new
experience.

4. ABSOLUTELY NO CHANGE IN
22 YEARS
• All 1,500 of the ads in the campaign have featured or make sly
reference to Absolut’s distinctive bottle, with the stubby neck and
see-through label. All also employ variations on the two-word
tagline used in the original ad, which showed the bottle with a halo
above the words “Absolut Perfection.”
• Absolut established their ads in fashion, music and arts.
• None of the ads was subjected to a focus group or other research
before it ran, according to Lewis. Yet they have become such a part
of pop culture that Lewis’s 1996 book on the campaign, Absolut
Book: The Absolut Vodka Advertising Story, sold 300,000 copies.
• Even after two decades, there’s plenty of life left in the campaign.

5. THE ABSOLUT
COLLECTION

6. THE OUTCOME
• This campaign ran non stop for 25 years and racked up more than 1500 variations.
• They were used globally and generally focussed locally. This meant that people felt
connected, and when people feel connected they're happier to purchase from you.
• In the US alone they saw a rise of 10,000 cases sold in 1980 to 4.5million cases in
2000.
• They made up more than half of the imported brands to the entirety of the US. The
company saw a rise in cities around the globe and they did that by making their
bottle the star of the show.
• This campaign did so well because it embodied the values and original USP of the
brand. It was pure.

7. POINT OF VIEW
• All the print ads of Absolut vodka focuses on the bottle and they kept the outline of
the bottle constant everywhere.
• According to me, Absolute vodka has created a genius series of ads which has surely
stretched the boundaries of imagination. These ads were extremely witty.
• The campaign invoked the closeness of the receiver to the image.
• My first experience of seeing these ads filled me with enthusiasm and admiration.
• Absolute has employed ingenious advertising techniques which has engaged their
audience into meaning making and meaning finding zone and created high
involvement.

8. POINT OF VIEW
• The focus was on creativity, culture and society, thus making the bottle a cult-object
rather than an alcoholic drink.
• The campaign was a relatively simple concept. Absolute ads started running with
different aspects, absolut cities, artists and even model photographers were used in
the campaign where the brand gained a huge brand recognition.
• I feel they were able to create brand recognition and recall through this campaign.

9. SOURCES
• “Absolut Vodka and Their Marketing Campaign Have Stood the Test of Time.” Smart Insights, 17 Aug.
2018, https://www.smartinsights.com/online-brand-strategy/international-marketing/campaign-of-the-
week-the-longest-running-print-ad-marketing-campaign-in-history/. . Accesses 12 June 2019
• Greenfield, Rebecca. “The Evolution Of Absolut Vodka’s Advertising Strategy.” Fast Company, 9 July
2014, https://www.fastcompany.com/3032598/the-evolution-of-absolut-vodkas-advertising-strategy.
Accessed 12 June 2019.
• http://www.angelfire.com/mac/dgoldeniz/absolute.html. Accessed 12 June 2019.