Absolut Cities
The Swedish vodka Absolut ‘Cities Campaign’ feature the bottle in distinctive urban environs. The Absolut Singapore design was unveiled on 8 November 2000 in Singapore featuring a spotlessly clean bottle being polished with a red cloth.
Eva Hedberg, Area Director (Asia Pacific), explains that the advertisement ‘reflects how V&S [owner and maker of Absolut] perceives Singapore, namely its amazement at how the Republic manages to stay hip and yet maintain a squeaky clean and green image… it’s our tribute to this city, a positive compliment.’ (Straits Times, 9 Nov 2000)*
While the advertisement garnered positive public response, some also saw the depiction as a ‘swipe at how Singapore is empty beneath its clinical veneer’ (Straits Times, 9 Nov 2000)*
*cited in Chang, T.C. and Lim, S.Y (2004) Geographical Imaginations of ‘New Asia-Singapore’ in Geografiska Annaler: Human Geography, Vol. 86 B (3): 165 - 185
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The Absolut advertisement campaign illustrates the intersection of a number of key issues: geographical imagination, product marketing, identity and public reaction.
Are such representations absolutely true of what cities really are?
How is the perception of a place affect by tourism marketing and city branding?
What are the impacts of tourism on cultural and national identity?
What are the distinctions between cultural and national identity?
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For more 'Absolut' ads, visit www.absolutads.com