Absolut-ly Lame
Posted by R.E. Finch on April 6, 2008 at 1:32 pm
There’s a serious kerfuffle in the Absolut brand thanks to a really bad marketing decision. It all centers on this advertisement:
These days, there is a substantial segment of America, perhaps a significant majority, for whom such imagery will be a cause for offense. This is now an official “crisis” and the mode of communication coming from the company should reflect that. Heck, Americans make up 40% of the market for their product. The folks at Absolut needed to take some serious steps to alleviate this situation. First, they needed to apologize profusely. Then they needed to find ways to make amends. There simply is no way to make this pig in a poke any more palatable. In this instance, with so much at stake, the only defense is surrender.
Instead, Absolut’s in-house shill machine went on the defensive. (Continued)
