[2] brand bottles: Absolut

I remember one day seeing my father unscrew a thick silver lid that sat snugly on top of one the world's most recognizable liquor bottles; Absolut. He flicked the lid onto the table, poured a neat glass and enjoyed. Seeing that Absolut bottle struck a different chord in me than any of the other liquors in the cabinet. It stood alone in shape and I never had to see a label to know what was in that bottle. The container itself was the brand and the company embraced it fully.

Prior to finding my interest in advertising I always was intrigued by that bottle. Needless to say when I found out Absolut had one of the coolest advertising campaigns I had ever seen, I was hooked. I looked forward to seeing a sleek new print ad that never had to use words to invoke feelings in the consumer. I often searched the internet for new ads that depicted the silhouette of the bottle using totally natural settings. One day all my Google searching came to life.

I walked into the halls of TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles this summer and was instantly faced with a wall that stood about 12 feet high and nearly 10 feet wide. It was plastered from top to bottom with the various print ads that had been created for the Absolut campaign. It featured ads from the United States, Ireland and even Thailand to name a few. No matter what city the ad was placed in the message was easily understood in any language, "our bottle kicks ass and so does the stuff inside".

Chao Phraya River, Bangkok

Rarely are there any words or copy writing done on the advertisements simply because it would be unnecessary. They are simple, savvy and well-crafted. Oh yeah, not too mention it is the longest running ad campaign ever. TBWA received the account around 1980 and have since created over 1,500 ads! The agency took note of the distinctive bottle and ran with the idea to display it in places you wouldn't quite expect such as the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok using Oriental Junk boats seen here.

The bottle is second to none, the liquor is great and the ad campaign is brilliant. It is for good reason it is the longest running ad campaign to date and I don't foresee that stopping anytime soon. TBWA did a fantastic job recognizing the distinction of the bottle and using it to brand the company. When I think Absolut, I think cool bottle, cooler ads.