Absolut vodka launched in 1879 in Sweden and faced challenges relaunching in 1979 against perceptions of vodka and competing Russian brands. Through creative advertising, Absolut established itself as the third most recalled spirits brand by achieving worldwide sales growth from 90,000 liters annually to 99 million liters through emphasizing its purity, lifestyle projection, and social stances. Its "In An Absolut World" campaign from 2007 featured imaginative takes on a perfect world through TV commercials, print ads, collaborations, and outdoor media.

1. Case Studies
Learning from iconic brands…

2. “Nothing in life is
absolute-only vodka”

3. Absolut Truth: Tasteless,
odorless and colourless,
vodka is the world’s
most popular spirit
drink. With offerings
indistinguishable from
competitors’, branding is
the only way to create
customer appeal and
loyalty.
Absolut Heritage: In
1879, Swede Lars Olsson
Smith launched Absolut
Vodka, made via a
unique distillation
process, and a distinctive
bottle design, a
prototype of an old
Swedish medicine bottle
Absolut Dilemma: As it
was being relaunched
after a 100 years, in 1979,
Absolut had to not only
fight off the perception
of vodka as cheap and
tasteless, but create a
space for a Swedish
player in a market of
Russian brands
The Absolut Story
For Absolut, the task of brand-building was accomplished via creative advertising

4. Built on the strength of advertising, Absolut strives towards one ideal- PERFECTION
SYMBOL IMAGE PHILOSOPHY
The iconic product
symbol- the bottle
celebrating vodka purity
An elevated and definite
lifestyle projection
Takes a social stand
addressing social
contradictions
Absolut Factors

5. Absolut Results
Since its launch
in 1979, has
achieved
worldwide sales
growth from
90,000 litres per
year to 99
million per year
Is the 3rd most
recalled spirits
brand of any
kind in the
world*
Is the 2nd largest
brand of
premium vodka
in the world*
*Source: Impact International

6. IN AN ABSOLUT WORLD CAMPAIGN
In 2007, Absolut decided to abandon its 25-year “Bottle” campaign and decided to bring in a
more thematic element into its advertising with the launch of the “In An Absolut World” a full
integrated campaign using multiple media touchpoints,, which challenges the status quo and
asks the viewer to imagine a more perfect, “Absolut” world.
The “Absolut Protest” TVC which kicked off the
campaign, showing protestors and policemen
fighting with friendly, harmless pillows rather than
firearms or sticks, in an “Absolut” world
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0vhw2Suvus
TVC

7. In an Absolut world, New York’s ad-laden billboards would be replaced by artistic masterpieces, politicians
can be caught lying via the length of their noses, and men could get pregnant too.
Print Ads

8. Creative collaboration initiative: Absolut Visionaries
Absolut Visionaries, was an initiative that engaged consumers and people in the media, arts
and entertainment fields to express their clever and daring ideals for life "In An Absolut
World”. It showcased the bold and optimistic projects from style-makers such as Kanye West,
Eddie Izzard, Perez Hilton, Pablo Francisco, Jim Denevan, various Live Earth Filmmakers, The
Sartorialist and editors from Thrillist.com, Flavorpill.com and Treehugger.com at
www.absolut.com.
Shot from Kanye West’s vision
of an Absolut world, where
anybody could be Kanye
Shot from Perez Hilton’s vision of
an Absolut world, where Hilton is
God

9. Creative collaboration initiative: Absolut Quartet
Inspired by the question, “In an Asbolut world, what if machines could be creative”, the Absolut Quarter is
a custom-made multi- instrumental orchestral machine, which plays music by itself. Customers could log
onto the Absolut website and feed in a music piece to be played, and watch it the machine doing so in real
time.

10. Online crowd-sourcing initiative: Visions of an Absolut World
On the Absolut website, the brand urged people to state their dreams of an Absolut world
and post videos of the instances where their visions were realized

11. Outdoor and ambient media
In an Absolut world, lottery numbers would be revealed before hand, buses would double up
as limousines, and one could enjoy a view from a beautiful balcony, even from a glass-covered
skyscraper.
The pyramid-shaped Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas covered in an Absolut poster

12. Product Launch: Absolut No Label
As part of a gay rights initiative, Absolut released a limited edition bottle, Absolut No Label, in
order to show their support for the belief. “In an Absolut World, there are no labels”

13. “Jeans don’t lie, and
I’m just happy!”

14. CHANGING THE WORLD, A PAIR OF
JEANS AT A TIME: Founded by Levi
Strauss and Jacob Davis in 1873,
Levi’s created the world’s first pair
of jeans, and has been synonymous
with the product ever since
FOUNDED BY PIONEERS, FOR
PIONEERS: As the original jeans
brand, it has been the brand of
choice for workers and cowboys of
the American West, GIs returning
from war and activists shaping the
world.
MADE FOR FUNCTION, NOT JUST
FORM: Levi’s jeans stemmed from
the need of durable workpants for
the early gold prospectors of
America, and the heavy denim for
durability, brass rivets and buttons
for strength are readily identifiable
details that made it such an icon
The Levi’s Story
Seeking to make a difference…

15. Creating an iconic brand..
Pioneering to the core!
TRADEMARKS UNIQUELY 501THE YOUTH BADGE
Levi’s popular 501 were sold in a
unique sizing arrangement; the
indicated size refers to the size of
jeans before shrinking. It remains
the largest selling product to this
day.
The comfort and ease of
wearing jeans made Levi’s
popular among youth
subcultures in the 50’s
and 60’s, including
greasers, mods, rockers,
hippies and skinheads
The patented rivet and
double arc stitching on the
back made it instantly
recognizable from other
brands in the market, which
were trying to cash in on the
jeans trend among the
working class created by
Levi’s

16. THE “GO FORTH” CAMPAIGN
The Levi’s brand sought to give the world a provocative wake-up call in
2011 with the unified message that Now Is the Time for the youth to
take the future into their hands and Go Forth.
For the first time in its 138-year history, Levi’s communicated and
engaged with young pioneers around the globe with one unified
message. This global creative platform and integrated campaign used
various media, exuding optimism and inspiring those willing to work for
a newer and mightier world.

17. Your life is your life
Don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
Be on the watch.
There are ways out.
There is a light somewhere.
It may not be much light but
It beats the darkness.
Be on the watch.
The gods will offer you chances.
Know them.
Take them.
You can’t beat death but
You can beat death in life, sometimes.
And the more often you learn to do it,
The more light there will be.
Your life is your life.
Know it while you have it.
You are marvellous
The gods wait to delight
In you.
America
Centre of equal daughters, equal sons,
All, all alike endear’d, grown, ungrown, young or old,
Strong, ample, fair, enduring, capable, rich,
Perennial with the Earth, with Freedom, Law and Love,
A grand, sane, towering, seated Mother,
Chair’d in the adamant of Time.
CHARLES BUKOWSKI’S THE LAUGHING HEART
WALT WHITMAN’S AMERICA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT16DcHcjRA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdW1CjbCNxw
TVCs- Using inspirational poetry for copy

18. Street Art
Levi’s collaborated with
the Portuguese street
artist Alexandre Farto,
aka Vhils, to create a
series of street murals
that captures the faces of
some of Berlin’s modern
day pioneers in a
dramatic and poetic way.
These pioneers serve as
an inspiration for the city
and embody the ‘Go
Forth’ spirit.

19. Print Ads

20. Online Initiatives: Water.org & Go Forth Fortune
The Go Forth Fortune was a contest to
find Grayson Ozias’ hidden fortune. Levi’s
challenged young people everywhere to
discover $100,000 burried
somewhere in America. They used social
media platforms and created an interactive
treasure hunt on Levi.com.
The ‘Go Forth’ digital engagement program
features an online social challenge that highlights
Water.org, a non-profit organization committed
to providing safe drinking water and sanitation to
people in developing countries. Levi’s fans and
Facebook users around the world are invited to
join the Levi’s® brand in supporting the efforts of
Water.org by making an online pledge that will
help bring clean water to up to 8,000 people for
life.

21. Outdoor media

22. “Is it love?”

23. The MINI Story
INSPIRED BY NEEDS: The
first Austin MINI was
rolled out in 1958 by the
British Motor Company,
developed as a result of
the petrol shortage
during and after the Suez
crisis of the 1950’s. It
became a marque by
1969
SETTING
STANDARDS: Great
ergonomics, excellent
handling and good
fuel efficiency made
the MINI an
instantaneous hit, and
set benchmarks for
other compact car
manufacturers to
follow
AN ICON FOR ICONS:
During the 1960s it
became popular with
celebrities and was seen
in films and on TV across
the world, ensuring that
it became design icon. A
popular appearance was
in the movie The Italian
Job, as it was driven by
Michael Caine
EVOLVING, YET
SAME: Over the
years, the MINI has
continued to
evolve, going from
Austin Mini to BMW
MINI, and yet it pays
homage to the
brilliance of the
original 1959 model
The MINI is a British icon of its own standing today

24. Fun in a nutshell!
THE CELEB’S CHOICETRUE TO ROOTS RALLY LEGACY CUSTOMER NEEDS
FIRST
In spite of evolving
throughout the years,
the MINI has not
deviated from its
roots in terms of
design, and continues
to inspire other small
car manufacturers
Limited edition versions,
with highly customizable
options, makes the MINI a
preferred choice for most
people
The MINI was flaunted
by many celebs in
movies and TV shows,
such as Michael Caine in
The Italian Job and
Rowan Atkinson in Mr.
Bean, making it a
quintessentially British
symbol
Since the
development of the
MINI Cooper in 1961,
this bug-eyed car has
taken part in rallies
where it won both
acclaim and awards,
and contributed to its
story
The making of an icon..

25. MINI RE-LAUNCH CAMPAIGN, 2002 (US & other countries)
The MINI has always been hard to classify. In its original 1960s incarnation it
captured Britain. Today, MINI remains a car unto itself, appealing more to a
mindset than a demographic profile.
To launch this icon, one needed to favour the unconventional appeal of the car over
the conventions of the automotive category.
BMW's ambition for MINI was not for it to be a volume player, but rather to create
a new segment for premium small cars.

26. TVCs
The MINI has spawned a prodigious amount of creative. Following the initial campaign, which brought the
MINI's attitude to life, later campaigns focused on performance attributes such as winter driving
Let’s Motor – 2002 to 2003
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chL0q_RAoFg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5HEsxi-nNk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2NN-lYd01s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnCLcDWUm0Q
TVCs showcasing the fun elements of the BMW Mini

27. Print ads
LET'S BURN THE MAPS. Let's get lost. Let's turn right when we should turn left. Let's
read fewer car ads and more travel ads. Let's not be back in ten minutes. Let's hold out
until the next rest stop. Let's eat when hungry. Let's drink when thirsty. Let's break
routines, but not make a routine of it. LET'S MOTOR.™
LET'S PUT AWAY THE MIDDLE FINGER. Let's lay off the horn. Let's volunteer jumper
cables. Let's pay a stranger's toll. Let's be considerate of cyclists. Let's keep in mind
automobiles were created to advance civilization. And for crying out loud, let's
remember to turn off those blinkers. LET'S MOTOR.™
LET'S SIP, NOT GUZZLE. Let's leave the off road vehicles off road. Let's stop pretending
we live in the jungle. Let's stop intimidating each other. Let's not use the size of our
vehicle to compensate for other shortcomings. Let's reclaim our garage space. Let's be
nimble. Let's be quick. Let's be honest. LET'S MOTOR.™

28. Outdoor and ambient media

29. Winter performance billboards

30. From airports to ski destination, cheeky outdoors continue

31. 13 MINIs placed at historical locations evoking its heritage connections (UK)

32. INTERESTING MEDIA INNOVATION
This ad went into the men’s washroom of MINI
retailers all across Canada. Each urinal was turned
into a mini saloon course using 3D pylons and the
copy challenged the patrons to test their handling
skills, both in the washroom and a MINI test drive.

33. “Runs end. Running
doesn’t”

34. INSPIRED BY DREAMS:
Nike was the product of
the dreams of two men-
sports coach Bill
Bowerman’s of making
lighter, durable racing
shoes for his runners, and
athlete Phil Knight’s of
making a living without
giving up his love for
sports.
START OF A JOURNEY:
Starting off as Blue
Ribbon Sports, Nike’s
journey began after
Knight sold shoes made
by Japanese brand Tiger
in the U.S. By the 70’s,
the company had
renamed itself as Nike,
incorporated the swoosh
as its logo, and sold its
first self-designed
product, the “Waffle”
shoe
SPREADING WINGS: By
the 1980’s, Nike had
gained 50% share in the
sports shoes market,
largely due to word-of-
mouth. But it was the
1988 campaign “Just Do
It” that established the
legend that became Nike
The Nike Story

35. Creating an iconic brand.
A single-minded focus on sports
JUST DO IT
The “Just Do It” tagline,
coined in 1988, captured the
essence of the brand-
passionate and unrelenting in
espousing a winning spirit
CELEBRITY ENDORSERS
From Michael Jordan to Serena
Williams, Nike has signed on various
celebrity athletes for its
endorsements, who embody the spirit
of sportsmanship in its truest form
INCLUSIVITY
From motivating women
athletes to non-athletes,
Nike through its
communication has
never been
discriminatory, and
encourages the winning
spirit in everyone

36. WRITE THE FUTURE CAMPAIGN
Nike unveiled an integrated campaign in 2010 celebrating iconic football moments called
“Write The Future.” The objective of the campaign was to dramatically show the impact of
pivotal moments in a game that lives beyond 90 minutes.
Nike gave their Facebook fans the chance to see their three-
minute World Cup ad spot (starring their favourite World Cup
footballers) before it aired. Fans were given the opportunity to
sign up on Nike’s Facebook page ahead of time to be able to
view the spot at its early release time. By the morning of the
early release date, over 107,000 fans had signed up for the
sneak peek. The day of the release, the film was viewed online
12,000,000 times and Nike Football Facebook fans tripled from
1.1 to 3.1
Nike went a step further with the “Write the Future”
campaign, inviting fans to do just that – create the future. Fans
were invited to participate in “The Chance” contest, to edit the
spot and make their own Facebook World Cup campaign. Nike
would choose the best of the user-generated campaigns and
send the creators to the Nike Academy soccer camp

37. STRIKE COUNTER: A FOOTBALLERS ONLY CAMPAIGN
To accompany the launch of
the new Nike T90 Laser IV,
Nike introduced a Facebook
app that enables footballers
around the world to record
and socialize their recorded
goals. The T90 Strike
Counter allows players to
input data about their goals
such as a spot on the pitch
they scored from, where in
the goal it went in and what
part of the boot they struck
the ball with. A 3D image can
immediately be shared with
friends or team mates. The
app also features pro player
commentary around
memorable goals and what
makes the perfect strike.

38. “I have measured out
my life with coffee
spoons”

39. A Passion for Coffee: In
1976, coffee lovers and
friends Jerry Baldwin,
Zev Siegl and Gordon
Bowker opened their
first store at 2000
Avenue, Seattle, and
started their coffee
roasting business
An idea is born: In1982,
Howard Schultz, the
Head of Management at
Starbucks, opened his
own coffee shop, Il
Gironale, inspired by the
café culture in Italy. In
1988, Starbucks was sold
to Il Giornale and
rebranded it as
Starbucks
Over a cup of coffee:
Over the next 5 years,
the company exceeded
expectations by opening
150 stores, capitalizing
on a concept that hadn’t
existed before- the
coffee shop as a
gathering house
The Starbucks Story

40. Creating an iconic brand…
It’s all about the people!
UNIQUE
CONCEPT
Introducing the
coffeehouse as a
social hub, Starbucks
redefined the coffee
experience
KEEPING CUSTOMERS
HAPPY
REWARDING
EMPLOYEES
Customer happiness is a
priority. Even a manager or
assistant manager receives at
least 80 hours of training
before they are allowed to
make drinks without
supervision
Starbucks has some of
the best payment plans
and benefits packages
available to both coffee
farmers , and their
employees
FEEDBACK BASED
INNOVATION
Working hard to keep both
employees and customers
happy, even Starbuck’s
innovative offerings are
based on feedback sought

41. THE LOVE PROJECT: A USER GENERATED CAMPAIGN
Print ads Web Banners
On December 7th, 2009 at 1:30 pm GMT Starbucks invited musicians from all over the world to sing
together at the same time to raise awareness for AIDS in Africa. In that one breathtaking moment,
musicians from 156 countries played “All You Need is Love” together. People could also join in by lending
their voices to http://StarbucksLoveProject.com. For each video submitted, Starbucks made a contribution
to the Global Fund to help fight against AIDS in Africa. Users could also help increase the Starbucks
contribution to the Global Fund by submitting a drawing to the Love Gallery.
Video showcasing people from 156 countries
singing for The Love Project

42. Learnings from iconic brands
What role did the brands play?

43. MARKET
DISRUPTERS:
Iconic brands
address a pertinent
need gap or a
contradiction in
society, and
challenge the
status quo
The idea for originated from the need for
high-quality, comfortable shoes for
athletes
Levi’s addressed the needs of miners in the
late 1800’s who were in dire need of a
durable material that could stand up to
their rigorous jobs

44. REMARKABLY
DISTINCTIVE: Iconic
brands have either
logos or symbols
which are unique,
making them easily
recognizable
anywhere in the
world
The Nike Swoosh The Absolut bottle shape

45. PHILOSOPHERS:
Iconic brands sell
more than just a
product or
belief..they stand
for certain values,
beliefs or a way of
life
Absolut evokes the spirit of an ideal world or perfection in its communication

46. LIGHTHOUSE
BEACONS: Iconic
brands do not simply
stand for certain
values or principles,
they actively take up
initiatives to act as a
guiding force for
their customers.
Nike’s communication continually challenges the customer to evoke their
sporting spirit

47. COMMUNITY
BUILDERS: Iconic
brands not only
fulfill customers’
needs to be a part
of a brand that is
different, but also a
community that is
different
People are at the core of Starbuck’s strategy, making coffee not just
a product to be sold, but an experience to be savoured

48. STORYTELLERS:
Iconic brands
leverage upon their
unique history and
legacy to create
powerful stories
Both the BMW MINI and Levi’s Jeans communicate about their unique
essence - of fun in the former, and of the pioneering spirit in the latter

49. THANK YOU