Design Exploration: Absolut Vodka

Creating advertising for vodka poses a set of interesting problems. Vodka has been around for a long time, so there is no need to educate the public about the product. As for extolling the virtues of vodka... what do you say? Fast-acting? Extra-Strength? Cures social anxiety? It's even good in spaghetti sauce? Instead, liquor campaigns focus on image. Rather than promote a product, they promote a lifestyle, and, in this case, a fantasy-based lifestyle out of reach to their average consumer. For Absolut, the image is cool, urbane, sophisticated, successful, chic, discerning, jet-setting, glamorous, elegant, wealthy -- all of those adjectives that are generally associated with social success. Absolut achieves this through color, scale, motion, technology, sound, celebrity tie-ins and signifiers. www.absolut.com

But before we can get to how any of this a pop-up appears. Absolut asks the user to input their age to ensure the viewer is old enough to be exposed to the content. Then a "terms and conditions" page appears and the user has to click to affirm that they have read and understand the terms and conditions. Next, the user has to verify their age again. On the verification pages, in very small type, are requests to drink responsibly as well as some links to recommended reading regarding the effects of alcohol.

Currently the site opens to the "Kanye West Vision" titled "In an Absolut World" (The viewer also has the option to click the button to go to the "Main Absolute Site.") Kanye West embodies all of those glamorous traits Absolut is connecting to its product. So does John McCain. But in their differences lie the heart of the Absolut campaign. West, having well-publicized run-ins with the law, has an edge, an enticing whiff of danger (even though McCain is scarier.) West is young, handsome and, most importantly, he is associated with sexual conquest. When you click to "View His (Kanye's) Vision" a short video plays in which Kanye enters a crowded room, grabs not one but two women who willingly accompany him and by the time he is across the room, he is dancing in the center of a pack of beautiful women. Meanwhile a chubby, pasty-faced male with a body language that screams "looser" ducks into the restroom, where he prepares to drink a potion made from the contents of a packet labeled "Be Kanye." An Elvis impersonator enters the scene, ingests the potion and becomes Kanye. Message accomplished.

The site is black, a color suggesting sophistication and elegance. The site navigation, which has some problems with disappearing buttons and rollover errors, is subtle as are the forward and back buttons in the slideshows. The small size and subtlety of the basic navigational elements reinforce the sophistication of the "Absolut World:" users/members don't need any hints or prompting to make their way. Motion and technology add to the glamour and up-to-the-minute chic of the site. 

Sound is featured throughout the site and changes with the content. Generally the sound is music, in some cases the user can download the music. There are parts of the site where text appears and is read out loud at the same time. (This could be helpful. Absolut has an enormous amount of content, a person could ingest major quantities of Absolut while exploring the "Absolut World.") A button to turn off the sound is also available, an option which pleases curmudgeonly viewers like myself.

Finally, the celebrities and other signifiers continually reinforce the image of social success. Absolut is well-known for its artist tie-ins such as Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst. The Flash site expands on that concept with an interactive multimedia experience.

Viewers can look at the campaigns Absolut has developed over the years, check out recipes for drinks (you need recipes?), access a list of occasions for drinking (including getting dressed up for a party), inspiration for drinking, forums on drink mixing and a blog.

Cheers!