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Don't Drink Absolut

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By Myrhaf from Myrhaf,cross-posted by MetaBlog

absolut_thumb%5B4%5D.jpg

Question: can a foreign vodka be sold to Americans using an ad that insults America? For this ad is a multiculturalist slap at America. The idea that American land should be returned to Mexico is a fantasy of MEChA, a leftist organization of "Chicanos."

Don't give me the "Hey, lighten up -- it's a joke" line. It might be a joke (though not a terribly funny one), but it is a dishonest joke that uses humor to smuggle in a bad idea. The use of humor is not an automatic get-out-of-jail-free card.

Born Again Redneck urges a boycott of Pernod, the company that owns Absolut. I'm with him, although I don't drink much anyway.

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Here is the response, from Absolut's web-site. (You're suppsoed to be 21 to go read it there.)

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In an ABSOLUT World according to Mexico Posted Friday, April 04, 2008, 5:26:34 PM

The In An Absolut World advertising campaign invites consumers to visualize a world that appeals to them -- one they feel may be more idealized or one that may be a bit "fantastic." As such, the campaign will elicit varying opinions and points of view. We have a variety of executions running in countries worldwide, and each is germane to that country and that population.

This particular ad, which ran in Mexico, was based upon historical perspectives and was created with a Mexican sensibility. In no way was this meant to offend or disparage, nor does it advocate an altering of borders, nor does it lend support to any anti-American sentiment, nor does it reflect immigration issues. Instead, it hearkens to a time which the population of Mexico may feel was more ideal.

As a global company, we recognize that people in different parts of the world may lend different perspectives or interpret our ads in a different way than was intended in that market. Obviously, this ad was run in Mexico, and not the US -- that ad might have been very different.

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How about a reverse map? One showing the US occupying the space between Canada and Guatemala and Belize? I, for one, would like it better that way.

No, there's no "historical" basis for it, but do remember US troops did invade Mexico and held a sizable swatch of land here, including Mexico City. Not to mention that in the end America paid for most of the land she took.

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This particular ad, which ran in Mexico, was based upon historical perspectives and was created with a Mexican sensibility. In no way was this meant to offend or disparage, nor does it advocate an altering of borders, nor does it lend support to any anti-American sentiment, nor does it reflect immigration issues. Instead, it hearkens to a time which the population of Mexico may feel was more ideal.

You feel that? That's them pissing on our legs and telling us it's raining.

Some "apology" that is.

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I was thinking that their thinking was "You'd have to be really drunk to believe that".

Right. I was thinking the same thing. If it's done from that perspective "Hey, look at this ludicrous and stupid idea", what buffoons we are for believing it, then I don't consider it offensive.

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Right. I was thinking the same thing. If it's done from that perspective "Hey, look at this ludicrous and stupid idea", what buffoons we are for believing it, then I don't consider it offensive.

No, you have to consider it in the context of the rest of their "In an Absolut world" ad campaign, which features a series of images that depict what the world would be like if it was more like Absolut.

Quoting from the New York Times, April 2007:

The campaign includes commercials and video clips as well as online ads (at absolut.com), print ads, billboards and event marketing. Drinkers are invited to imbibe “in an Absolut World,” a fanciful, even surreal, place where common sense prevails and just deserts are always on the menu.

While that description isn't directly from Absolut, I would say it is an accurate characterization of the intent of their ads. They are depicting a surreal version of what they would consider ideal. So the message of this latest ad is unmistakable.

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