Archive for the ‘Absolut News’ Category
V&S Group is once again set to add to its Absolut vodka stable with the launch of the grapefruit-flavoured ABSOLUT RUBY RED.
The vodka, the eighth flavour in the Absolut portfolio, will be unveiled in Sweden and Poland in May and launched in the US in June, when it will also hit the travel retail channel.
Eva Kempe-Forsberg, vice president for marketing at V&S Absolut Spirits said today (23 March) that the company was following its tradition of pioneering different flavours within the vodka category.
“This is the second launch in as many years where Absolut vodka ventures into a flavour segment that is previously underdeveloped, a tradition we established as early as 1988 with the successful introduction of Absolut Citron.”
Last year, V&S launched forged new territory with the launch of the peach-flavoured Absolut Apeach.
A spokesperson for V&S Absolut Spirits told just-drinks that there would be a gradual roll-out of Absolut Ruby Red but insisted the company would first focus on cementing the brand in Sweden, Poland and the US.
She added: “If we want to compete (in flavoured vodka), we need to bring out exciting new vodkas as much as we can. Ruby Red is good for us because we are creating a new segment with it.”
Bengt: “Swedish newsflash with the logo! They first worked with the yellow grapefruit. The bottle gonna be frosted with a graphic pattern with grapefruits.
Releasedate 2nd of may in Swedish clubs and bars, and in Poland! One month later in the states and the taxfree-shops.” (Swedish press release)
It’s already one year since the Absolut Apeach was born. This May the new flavor in Absolut’s family will be introduced. The flavor itself is still “closely guarded secret” but we will know more very soon.
UPDATED March 23: As it was written by “Bengt” in comments - the new flavor should be made from pink/red grapefruit and it should be called ABSOLUT RUBY RED. Will this be the final name? We will see in two months.
I was just checking the web of Absolut and found that AbsolutKravitz.com site is available in more languages than only English. You can see this page in Russian and Spanish too.
Chinese AbsolutVodka.cn website was changed together with official Absolut Vodka website. So Absolut Kravitz site is available in Chinese too ;)
And one more notice about regional Absolut Vodka website. In Poland there is an Absolut Cities exhibition and the website to this was opened. Just visit absolutmiasta.pl.
The new updated version of the official ABSOLUT VODKA website was just opened. Visit absolut.com to find out more. You can download new music and video on ABSOLUT KRAVITZ mini site and more.
The old ABSOLUT.com website is not available anymore. The main site was replaced with special site dedicated to ABSOLUT KRAVITZ project. There is new section opened too called ABSOLUT DRINKS. This site is available on AbsolutDrinks.com and offers lots of tips and Absolut drink recipes. Probably we can expect more to come soon. For information thanks to David from GreatWorks.se - company responsible for latest Absolut websites.
(USA Today) After 25 years and 1,500 versions of print ads built around the shape of its bottle, Absolut vodka is shelving the campaign that made it famous.
Absolut will spend $20 million on a new effort that starts today and includes its first TV ads as the brand battles slower growth and tougher competition for vodkas.
“We’re introducing the brand to a new generation of vodka drinkers,” says Tim Murphy, brand director. “Those in their late-20s have come of age in a noisy, chaotic, cluttered vodka category.”
The company is not walking away from its long-running, iconic advertising that plays on its bottle shape and has become part of popular culture, though Smiley acknowledges it has become a “little bit invisible in some ways to people.” “It would be crazy to retire that campaign,” he said. (Read more here)Dozens of new vodkas have flooded the market since 1981 when the playful Absolut campaign began. The ads combined cultural icons, landmarks and trends with the bottle. They set the standard for today’s high-style, image-oriented spirits advertising.
While Absolut pioneered premium spirits marketing, today’s drinkers increasingly have favored even higher-priced brands, such as Grey Goose and Belvedere.
Sales of those newer brands continue to soar despite a price premium of up to a 20%. Absolut still leads U.S. sales of imported vodkas with a 10% share, but growth is lagging behind the group. While sales of imported vodkas grew an estimated 8% in 2005, Absolut is estimated to be up just 2%, according to beverage research publication Impact’s 2005 annual spirits study.
Even as the market shifted and rivals began to advertise on TV, Absolut stuck with the print campaign. Among the earliest ads was a signature silkscreen by pop artist Andy Warhol with the message “Absolut Warhol.” A golf green shaped like an Absolut bottle was “Absolut 19th,” while “Absolut Miami” showed an art deco bottle.
The new campaign, by TBWA/Chiat/Day in New York, pushes the brand as “The Absolut Vodka” and continues to play with the name.
In the first TV ad, for instance, the clear, silver-topped Absolut bottle is the closing shot, after the late movie star Steve McQueen is labeled “The Absolute Man” and the Statue of Liberty is tagged “The Absolute Welcome.”
Also included are less obvious images aimed at younger viewers, such as CBGB as “The Absolute Rock Club” and a scene from the movie Office Space as “The Absolute Worst Case of the Mondays.” Music is a remix of Hey Mrs. by I Monster. A second TV commercial will follow later this year.
The ads “give new meaning to the word absolute and use different mediums that we haven’t used in the past,” says Matthias Aeppli, Absolut’s vice president of marketing. “TV has become more open and available to (spirits advertising). It’s important that we talk to a new generation in a new, updated way.”
ABSOLUT is proud to announce the launch of ABSOLUT KRAVITZ - a new music project which sees Lenny Kravitz creating an exclusive new track based on his interpretation of the ABSOLUT brand.
“We are thrilled to have Lenny Kravitz with us on our creative journey and in this, our first high-profile music project,” says Michael Persson, Global Brand Director for ABSOLUT VODKA. “Not only is he supremely talented; his output, inspired by so many genres and eras of music, defies categorisation, making him truly individual - a quality which means he is perfectly at home with the creativity of ABSOLUT.”One of the pre-eminent rock musicians of our time, Lenny Kravitz is an icon whose bold, channelling sound has transcended genre, style, race and class. Over a remarkable 16-year career, Kravitz has managed to do it all with a contemporary urgency rivalled by none. All of his albums have been certified either platinum or multi-platinum. He has also been showered with accolades including MTV Video Music Awards, American Music Awards and our consecutive GRAMMY Awards for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. Kravitz’s appeal has also been recognized by his peers; his collaborative efforts are as varied as his own influences, having worked with Madonna, Slash, Jay-Z, N.E.R.D., P. Diddy and Alicia Keys.
Famous for its creative collaborations with leading world-famous artists and designers, this collaboration marks the first time ABSOLUT has worked with such a well-known figure from the world of music.
“ABSOLUT has had a history of working with great artistic people - like Andy Warhol, Tom Ford, Jean Paul Gaultier, Gianni Versace and Kenny Scharf. I thought it would be interesting to do an artistic collaboration like this and be part of that heritage,” says Kravitz.
Kravitz recorded a new song, entitled “Breathe”, in New York, which will be featured in the campaign. Although this collaboration marks the first collaboration with an internationally recognised recording artist, the brief given to Kravitz was exactly the same as the one any world-class artist working with the brand would receive: present your personal interpretation of ABSOLUT and its core values. The result is a track that is a transition from
Kravitz’s traditional rock and roll to a distinctly dance music sound, with minimal lyrics, a memorable melody and pulsating beat.
Kravitz said that he was inspired by the brand’s core values of clarity, simplicity and perfection. ‘There’s nothing more simple, clear or perfect than the essence of true love,’ he says. ‘Once I’d felt that, the track just came.’
“The ABSOLUT brand is synonymous with a true and genuine passion for creativity. Using communication technology we are now able to share this creativity and distribute our collaborative artistic work with a global audience,” says Michael Persson.
Kravitz’s new track “Breathe,” part of the ABSOLUT TRACKS COLLECTION, will not be for sale as part of the ABSOLUT KRAVITZ project. Instead it will be available to download for free, along with is accompanying video, from www.absoluttracks.com.
This is the third music project from ABSOLUT. Initiated in 2003, ABSOLUT
TRACKS projects have so far presented 7 producers/artists from across Europe creating new tracks inspired by their unique interpretation of the ABSOLUT bottle. ABSOLUT KRAVITZ is the first project that has seen ABSOLUT teaming up with an internationally recognised recording artist. Lenny Kravitz joins the long list of talented individuals - Andy Warhol, Gianni Versace, Damien Hirst and Helmut Lang among them - who have collaborated with ABSOLUT to create exclusive new works.
At the end of last year the new version of ABSOLUT WARSAW city ad was presented in Poland. Warsaw is the capital city of Poland and we had a chance to know the older ad called ABSOLUT WARSAW. The ABSOLUT WARSAW launch party was held in Warsaw on 8th December 2005. Together with ABSOLUT WARSAW ad there was an exhibition called ABSOLUT MIASTA (Absolut Cities) - see the poster for this exhibition. This exhibition was presenting the best known Absolut City ads.
I am not sure if this ad appeared in magazines. Poland was known for strict rules for alcohol magazine advertising. If you know more feel free to let me know.
(PR) In February, Tokyo will see the opening of the first ABSOLUT ICEBAR outside of Europe. The project is a collaboration between ABSOLUT, ICEHOTEL and Carrozzeria Japan and the ABSOLUT ICEBAR TOKYO will be located in Nishiazabu/Tokyo.
“Ever since we initiated the ABSOLUT ICEBAR project, Tokyo has been on the top of our list of preferred cities so it is with great pleasure we do this announcement. From an ABSOLUT perspective, the ABSOLUT ICEBAR project is a perfect way of making the creativity of the ABSOLUT brand come to live and invite the consumers to experience it.”, says Michael Persson Global Brand Director for ABSOLUT VODKA.
“We know, from our experiences at ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi, that our concept of working with ice environments are very much appreciated by our Japanese guests and therefore we are especially pleased to now be able to present this unique experience right in the heart of Tokyo”, says Agnetha Lund, Director ICEBAR International.
The new ABSOLUT ICEBAR will host up to 50 guests at a time. As the bar contains an environment of -5 degrees centigrade where everything - from the walls, bar and artwork to the glasses that holds the ABSOLUT cocktails - is made from crystal clear Torne River ice, guests will be provided with specially designed capes and gloves on arrival. The bar is developed according to exactly the same concept, and with the same ice, as the bar at ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi, giving the visitors a chance to experience the icy cool of the Lappish winter throughout the year.”I read a newspaper article about the opening of ABSOLUT ICEBAR STOCKHOLM two years ago at a hotel in Stockholm. It captured my attention and I felt I had to visit it immediately. The beauty and purity of ice inspired my ideas, and also ABSOLUT ICEBAR’s values of originality and authenticity impressed me. I am sure the people of Japan will enjoy the experience of the exclusive trip from Tokyo-metropolitan to Lapland- Jukkasjärvi”, says Minoru Ohba, President for Carrozzeria Japan Co., Ltd.
Significantly, everything in the new ABSOLUT ICEBAR will come from the same source. Purity of quality at origin is essential to ABSOLUT ICEBAR: Just as ABSOLUT produces all it’s vodka in Åhus, southern Sweden, all the ice present at ABSOLUT ICEBAR TOKYO will come from the Torne River, from whose crystal clear ice the ICEHOTEL is also carved.
Notes to editors:
• All the ice in the ABSOLUT ICEBAR will come from the Torne River in northern Sweden. The purity of the water and the freezing process in the river creates the remarkable crystal clear ice. The ice is harvested from the Torne River this winter and is transported all the way to Tokyo for the construction of the bar.
• ABSOLUT ICEBAR can also be found at the world famous ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi in Sweden, as well as in Stockholm (launched in 2003), Milan (launched 2004) and London (launched 2005). The ABSOLUT ICEBAR TOKYO is the first ABSOLUT ICEBAR to launch outside of Europe.
• The partnership between ABSOLUT and ICEHOTEL was brought to international attention with the ABSOLUT VERSACE campaign that was photographed at the ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi in 1994.
• Art plays a prominent part in the ABSOLUT ICEBAR, the head designer at ICEHOTEL will invite different artists to create a series of sculptures from the Torne River ice that will be on display in the stunning place. Twice a year a total new design will be created to ensure the guests an experience that is always evolving.
• The partnership between Swedish premium vodka ABSOLUT and ICEHOTEL was established in 1994 and initiated the exploration for the perfect bar experience. Since then, ABSOLUT has not only shown its presence behind the bar, but in the very design of the bar itself.
• ABSOLUT VODKA is the third largest premium spirits brand in the world and is sold on 126 markets. The head office is located in Stockholm, Sweden, and the production in Åhus, Sweden.
• In 1999 the ABSOLUT TOKYO ad was launched. The advertising campaign has been acknowledged as one of the most successful and creative advertising in the world and was named as one of the 10 best campaigns of the 20th century by American Advertising Age.
Absolut Vodka opened new micro site dedicated to this years holidays and printed ads called ABSOLUT NAUGHTY. You can download screensaver, desktops and “send kiss” over the internet. Check out absolut.com/naughty.
