IN1446

Building an Aspirational High-End Brand through Cultural Engagement:

Absolut Vodka’s Love Affair with Art

03/2018-6375

This case was written by David Dubois, Associate Professor of Marketing, Frédéric Godart, Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour, Brian Henry, Research Fellow, all at INSEAD, and Vadim Grigorian (INSEAD MBA ‘00J). It is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation.

Additional material about INSEAD case studies (e.g., videos, spreadsheets, links) can be accessed at cases.insead.edu.

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Introduction

January 2018: Vadim Grigorian was sipping verbena tea at Café de Flore in Paris. He had recently launched himself as a cultural strategist and creativity consultant, following a corporate career that included 13 years at Pernod-Ricard, where from 2003 he went through a series of management positions before leaving the spirits company in 2016. In his experience as a global director of creativity and luxury, he had gained a deep insight into brands as cultural agents and the role of art in brand making. He was convinced that this was essential to sustain brands’ success in the digital age.

Over that period, interest in the creative arts and museums had steadily risen. In 2015, 57.5 million people visited 10 of the top museums in the United States, up 2.6% from 53.5 million in 2014.1 The Van Gogh Museum (VGM) in Amsterdam had 2.26 million visitors in 2017, up from 2.1 million the year before, making it the most visited museum in the Netherlands. Its online fan base had grown exponentially: it had more than 4.4 million followers on Facebook, 1.4 million fans on Twitter, and its Instagram account had doubled to more than 500,000. “The museum,” its website announced, “positions itself alongside the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa), the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Saatchi Gallery, in the international top-five of museums on social media.”2 The site also hosted a special collection of French prints that were rarely put on display because of their sensitivity to light.

In Paris, the Musée du Louvre had teamed up with researchers at MIT to analyze visitor patterns using Bluetooth technology.3 Meanwhile, Google had various innovative projects to make art more accessible to consumers, from mass-digitalization of art pieces to virtual visits of museums or exhibitions. In the digital age, a cultural engagement strategy was clearly a powerful differentiator to separate market leaders from the pack. But what exactly did designing and implementing a cultural-engagement strategy entail?

Original Positioning

Since arriving on the North American market in 1979, after 100 years of solitude on the Swedish market, Absolut had developed a ‘brand personality’ characterized by radical creativity and connections to communities in the art, fashion and music world. But its first challenge was to transcend traditional market perceptions: How could a vodka from Sweden compete against established Russian imports when vodka was so strongly identified with Russia, where it accounted for 90% of the spirits market.4

In the United States, Absolut was introduced as a high-end product, relying on creativity and art to stand out from its Russian peers. Its unique brand identity relied on associations with the

1 Global Attractions Attendance Report, TEA Themed Entertainment Association, 2015 Museum Index, p. 73, http://www.teaconnect.org/images/files/TEA_160_611852_160525.pdf, accessed 28 February 2018

2 https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/news-and-press/press-releases/van-gogh-museum-welcomes-record-number-of-visitors-and-becomes-most-visited-museum-in-the-netherlands, accessed 28 February 2018

3 https://knowledge.insead.edu/blog/insead-blog/the-digital-transformation-of-museums-6851, accessed 25 January 2018

4 ArArAt Brandy: Transforming a Legend into a Modern Icon, by Amitava Chattopadhyay and Vadim Grigorian, INSEAD Case Study 08/2014-5660, p. 2

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creative art world; the name was spelled without a final ‘e’ to add a new twist; the bottle did not have a printed label (unusual at the time); the emphasis was on its Swedish roots and healthy ingredients. Absolut was positioned as a premium vodka, priced 50% higher than existing products. In the United States, the world’s largest premium spirits market, Absolut was first distributed in Boston and then in New York. The US distributor, Carillon Importers Ltd., was managed by an outgoing, open-minded French entrepreneur, Michel Roux, who was key to the way Absolut embraced cutting-edge creativity and culture.

The Absolut Bottle Campaign

It was very clear that the colorless, odorless, tasteless spirit coming from the wrong country, with a wrong name, in a wrong bottle, would survive only through ingenious marketing and communication strategies, using its apparent weaknesses as strengths. (Vadim Grigorian)

The success of Absolut stemmed in part from its celebrated “bottle campaign”, conceived by New York advertising agency TBWA. The first campaign, in 1981, dubbed Absolut Perfection, used humor and wit to appeal to customers, with two-word headliners such as Absolut Wonderland, Absolut Clarity, Absolut Dream, Absolut Attraction, and Absolut Magnetism (see Exhibit 1). The minimalist intellectual approach gave way to a more straightforward series, Absolut Objects and Absolut Cities.

More than 1,000 advertisements were produced in the early years, all with the idea of interpreting things from the Absolut perspective. It was the most long-lived campaign in the history of advertising, earning Absolut and TBWA over 350 awards during their 20-year collaboration. TBWA was given complete creative freedom and the ads were never pre-tested. “We did not have to pluck consumers off the street and ask them questions like ‘What is Absolut trying to communicate in this ad?’” commented Richard W. Lewis, TBWA’s account manager for Carillon.

Andy Warhol, the Godfather

Andy Warhol (1928-87), the American commercial illustrator-turned-artist, who famously remarked “Most people in America think Art is a man’s name,” became a leading figure in the movement known as pop art.5 Three decades after his death, he is considered an icon of contemporary art by experts, collectors and the public alike. Warhol, who was the owner and editor of Interview, played a critical role in establishing the credibility of Absolut in the contemporary art world. Warhol was introduced to Absolut in 1983, at a dinner with Michel Roux, where he offered to paint his interpretation of the vodka.6 At the time, pop artists often integrated brands into their work, as a critique of consumer society. Warhol joked that while he did not drink alcohol, he would “sometimes use Absolut as a perfume”. He received a $65,000 commission for the painting, but no guidance or restrictions from the brand; he thus painted a

5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Warhol, accessed 14 November 2017 6 https://spritmuseum.se/en/collections/absolut-art-collection/, accessed 14 November 2017

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simple black bottle (Exhibit 2). As the first artist to create an advertisement for the brand, he set in train its future art-driven marketing strategy.

From the outset, Absolut saw the potential. Warhol was an artist, an influential personality and expert in celebrity culture. In 1985, at the peak of his artistic career, his influence extended well beyond the art world. Wealthy patrons wanted portraits, famous people sought his friendship, and aspiring artists his validation. He was a regular at the legendary New York nightclub Studio 54, where he befriended celebrities from Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall to Calvin Klein and Truman Capote.

As Warhol introduced Absolut to his artist friends, he legitimized the brand’s presence in contemporary art. Among the earliest were his protégé Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-88) and artist Keith Haring (1958-90), creator of the “Radiant Baby” symbol.7 Absolut Haring was unveiled at a launch party at New York’s Whitney Museum in November 1986. Then came Kenny Scharf, famous for his futuristic cartoon-like graffiti (Exhibit 3). A cascade of free interpretations of the Absolut bottle used a variety of media – painting, photography, sculpture, and even art assemblage (similar to two- or three-dimensional collages) (see Exhibit 4).

Michel Roux built a powerful network of influencers, including gallery owner Leo Castelli, who in turn introduced the brand to celebrity artists such as Ed Ruscha (Exhibit 5). To increase access to artists, TBWA tapped into the knowledge of magazine editors, art curators, museum directors and gallery owners.

Artistic Collaborations in a Changing Environment: 1980 vs. 2010

Absolut’s engagement with art included strong educational, aspirational and consistency components. By putting artists’ names on the covers of magazines, Absolut made them household names. “Absolut’s strength was being a multiplier and making contemporary art and artists visible,” noted Daniel Birnbaum, director of the Moderna Museum in Stockholm.8 Said Uli Wiesendanger, the ‘W’ of TBWA, “We always wanted to make people discover something. Education was at the heart of the Absolut campaign.”

Embracing the creative community helped to make the brand aspirational. By being open to artists and respecting their freedom, by giving back to the art community without short-term goals, Absolut earned the respect of the art world and the creative community at large. As Peter Plagens, an art critic from New York, noted: “If you want to adhere to the art world, you have to accept wholeheartedly that there will be things that cause trouble. You have to accept the edginess of it and find a way to embrace it.”

The consistency and scale of its artistic collaborations made Absolut stand out – over 850 collaborations with contemporary artists from 1985 to the early 2000s. After the initial collaboration with Warhol, the art scene had become increasingly global, diverse, feminine, youthful, digital, commercial and investment-minded. Moving past traditional genres and

7 The Radiant Baby symbol first appeared as a subway tag. Haring described it the Radiant Baby as the purest and most positive experience of human existence.

8 All of the quotations in this paragraph and the two below are drawn from Vadim’s recollections of conversations with the people named.

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photography, it embraced music, media, design, fashion, architecture and technology. Art critic Arthur Danto observed that, after Warhol’s ‘Brillo Box’ the frontiers between genres, media and commercial and non-commercial aspects of art had blurred – “Anything goes.”

While the 1980s art scene was dominated by the cultural elite, in the 2010s contemporary art reached the mass market and became a global phenomenon, according to Vadim. Cutting-edge museums and flourishing art markets in places like Mexico, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong could no longer be ignored. Artists were more ‘brand savvy’. Brands that came into the art world as ‘predators’ – to ride on the status and fame of artists – were either shunned or fleeced.

The trendiness of contemporary art brought many corporate sponsors from almost all sectors, from banks to carmakers to luxury-goods producers. For example, Pommery sponsored FIAC, a leading art fair in France, and created its own exhibition, Expérience Pommery. Ruinart sponsored Art Basel, the Pavillion of Art and Design in London, Art Platform in Los Angeles, and Arco Madrid, the international contemporary art fair in Madrid. These brand collaborations, which were mostly limited to product sponsorship or commissions for artists to decorate bars, were often viewed sceptically by opinion leaders. Said author/editor Lindsay Pollock, “Ruinart gave me a coupon for a drink at a recent Art Platform Fair in Los Angeles, but I am not sure if it is effective strategy. They had a beautiful bar, but that does not make me want to buy their champagne. If it is just about product sponsorship and the party element, what does it give to the art world? It cheapens everything, in my opinion.”

Artistic freedom sometimes yielded controversial results, such as the work of still life photographer Björn Keller (Exhibit 6).9 Some artists were considered decorative by the art world, such as Brazilian neo-pop artist Romero Britto (Exhibit 7). Works by critically acclaimed artists could be too abstract for commercial communication, such as Douglas Gordon, whose simple square canvas (like Kazimir Malevich’s Black Square) depicted 27 bottles of vodka in horizontal and vertical strokes.

After nearly two decades of artistic collaboration, Absolut decided to reduce its active presence on the contemporary art scene, believing that it had become too ‘niche’ for the brand. One of its most memorable involvements was in 2003, when 13 contemporary European artists were chosen to mentor emerging artists as part of the Absolut Generations project at the 50th Venice Biennale. They included Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010) who mentored Aspassio Haronitaki, Oleg Kulik, Dan Wolgers and Linn Fernström (Exhibits 8,10 9).11 The resulting 29 works were exhibited at the chic Palazzo Zenobio.

Absolut Fashion, Photography, Music, Cinema

In reflecting back on this wonderful epoch, Vadim realized that art was not the only dimension that Absolut had used in order to connect with trendsetting and opinion-leading consumers. In 1987, Absolut commissioned the young American fashion designer David Cameron to create a dress. Fashion photographer Steven Meisel snapped model Rachel Williams in “a simple mini-

http://www.absolutad.com/absolut_lists/collections/pictures/?id=1140&_s=collections, accessed 9 February 2008

10 http://www.absolutad.com/absolut_gallery/singles/?l=B&f=72&n=24, accessed 12 February 2018 11 https://spritmuseum.se/en/collections/absolut-art-collection/, accessed 14 November 2017

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dress that carried the entire Absolut bottle copy on its front”. The company apparently received 5,000 calls on the first day of the Absolut Cameron campaign from people who wanted to order the dress.12

Thus began an annual series of fashion shoots, featuring the work of 16 designers, most of them young and yet-to-be-discovered. Like the artists, the designers were given relative freedom to incorporate the Absolut bottle imagery into their choice of clothing (Exhibit 10). However, as Vadim pointed out, “The difference between the engagement with the art world was that clothing was a specific medium, and the creations often appeared gimmicky and looked like branded outfits for event hostesses” (see Exhibit 11).

In 1995, another fashion collaboration brought Absolut more credibility (Exhibit 12). Helmut Newton, the legendary photographer, was commissioned to create an ad portfolio that would feature designers such as Azzedine Alaïa, Martine Sitbon, Manolo Blahnik, John Galliano,Helmut Lang and Anna Molinari. Shot in Åhus, the village where Absolut is made, the campaign ran in a six editions of Vogue throughout America, Europe and Asia.13

Other high-level collaborations with celebrity photographers followed. Absolut Versace was shot at a Swedish ice hotel by Herb Ritts (1952-2002) featuring supermodels Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell and Swedish model Marcus Schenkenberg, in 1997 (Exhibit 13).14 For the Absolut Gucci fashion shoot, photographer Mario Testino took photos of Tom Ford, in 1999 (Exhibit 14).15 For Absolut Gaultier, the job went to Jean-Baptiste Mondino, a fashion photographer famous for his music videos featuring Madonna, David Bowie, Sting and Björk, and was shot in Stockholm in 2002 (Exhibit 15).16

After these publicity-generating projects, Absolut launched more controlled and marketing-driven projects in fashion, such as the Absolut Label Collections in 2004, where a designer was asked to interpret a fashion item under various themes, such as a T-shirt theme featuring Sweden. Vadim noted, “These projects were often looked down by opinion leaders and considered gimmicky.”

Since Absolut has always been a visual brand, finding a connection between Absolut and music was difficult – until the development of the internet. The Absolut DJ site, launched in 1998, sought to connect with the DJ community, paying tribute to DJs and music producers. In 1999, the Absolut Jam, a global jam from four cities, played in real time over the internet. Three DJ-composers were commissioned (in the same way as artists) to make their interpretation of the bottle and the brand.17 Absolut Three Tracks were presented in 2003 and included the following

1. Absolut Brikha: a high-tech soul track that included the sound of the bottle shape.

12 According to an interview with Vadim Grigorian. 13 http://absolutad.com/absolut_gallery/collections/?op=getCollection&c=9, accessed 9 February 2018 14 http://absolutad.com/absolut_gallery/collections/?op=getCollection&c=10, accessed 9 February 2018 15 http://absolutad.com/absolut_gallery/collections/?op=getCollection&c=11, accessed 9 February 2018 16 http://www.absolutad.com/absolut_useful/davez/pictures/?id=2008&_s=davez, accessed 9 February 2018 17 Many of the details in this section and the one that follows are cited in two term papers written in 2008-2009

by MSc students at the IÉSEG School of Management, for a project called, Consulting Skills And Research Methodology, Absolut Vodka. The case writers acknowledge the following students: Régis Amichia, Anne Laure Le Luyer, Perrine Le Scanff, Marie Sabine Leblond, Paul Arthur Lenoel, Julien Wiart, Antoine Vens, Marine Vieuille, Pauline Rabreau, Harold Soulliez.

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2. Absolut Rollercone: a club track that payed tribute to the artists and designers who had collaborated with the brand.

3. Absolut Taxi: a soulful track that explored reality using sounds created from the bottle itself.

4. Absolut Kravitz: American singer songwriter Lenny Kravitz created an exclusive track, Breathe, based on his interpretation of the brand values of clarity, simplicity and perfection (Exhibit 16). “There’s nothing more simple, clear or perfect than the essence of true love. Once I’d felt that, the track just came,” he commented.18

Brand Privatization

In March 2008, the Swedish government sold the Vin & Sprit group (V&S) which owned Absolut to Pernod-Ricard for €5.63 billion,19 a price that many investment analysts deemed too expensive at the time (just months before the global economic crisis of 2008-09 was identified as such).20 However, Pernod-Ricard was keen to buy a leading vodka brand to fill a gap in its drinks portfolio and improve its position in the North American market. When it won the hotly-contested auction to buy V&S, beating out bourbon-maker Jim Beam, Pernod-Ricard jumped from fourth to second place in the wine-and-spirits rankings in the US, with a 14% market share. “It is an iconic brand which has strong links with creativity and modernity and a unique angle. It is one of four brands above 10 million cases in annual sales and is the largest premium brand worldwide,” said Pernod-Ricard’s Finance Director Emmanuel Babeau.21 There was no doubt that Absolut would benefit from Pernod-Ricard’s strong distribution network.

But the new owner also had to allay investor concerns about how it would pay down the debt it took on from the acquisition; some agencies even thought of downgrading Pernod-Ricard: “The review for a possible downgrade reflected the magnitude of this debt-financed transaction”, said Yasmina Serghini, a Moody’s analyst.22 However the investment community eventually bought into the company’s vision, sending the share price up from €65 in March 2008 to €130 in 2018. With a current market capitalization of €33.88 billion, Pernod-Ricard has become the second largest largest luxury and premium spirits company in the world. It is still way behind the market leader Diageo, which has a market cap of €72.29 billion.23

At the time of the acquisition, some brand experts and Absolut old-timers wondered if Pernod-Ricard had the marketing savvy and sensitivity to understand Absolut’s true ethos and leverage its cultural capital. Management did not want to run the risk of tinkering with the brand personality, but, according to Vadim, Absolut had become culturally less cool. It had even been outsmarted by Grey Goose, Bacardi’s luxury vodka, which commanded higher prices and more media attention. Over time, sales in its core market began to stagnate. Worse, the brand was losing traction with key opinion leaders around the world, among them leading bartenders.

18 http://www.contactmusic.com/lenny-kravitz/video/lennykravitzx18x01x06 19 https://www.thelocal.se/20080331/10800, accessed 8 November 2017 20 Absolut Vodka: The Spirit of a Brand, by Rajkumar Venkatesan, Randle D. Raggio and Katherine Noel,

Darden Business Publishing, Business Case Ref. UV6609 21 Based on an interview with Vadim Grigorian 22 Based on an interview with Vadim Grigorian 23 S&P Capital IQ, dated 8 November 2017

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Back to Absolut’s Music Roots

To connect with the American public, Absolut underwrote a concert by American rapper Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter at New York’s Madison Square Garden in commemoration of the first responders who lost their lives at the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001. The concert was on 11 September 2009, and was aired exclusively in high definition and without paid advertising on Fuse TV (Exhibit 17). All proceeds went to the New York Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefit Fund, a non-profit organization that had helped families of fallen first responders since 1985.24 As part of the collaboration with Jay-Z, Absolut presented “NY-Z”, a 15-minute documentary featuring Jay-Z directed by Danny Clinch.25

Absolut’s music projects generated a mix of publicity in this period. Said Vadim, “They looked more like one-off opportunistic collaborations with famous musicians rather than demonstrating a genuine interest in music. They also had difficulty cutting through the clutter of music engagement activities of other alcohol brands.” At the same time, beer brands were quick to launch large-scale sporting and music events in collaboration with famous musicians. Budweiser, for example, developed an annual partnership with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and rolled out a global music campaign.26

In 2010, Absolut commissioned American film-maker Spike Jonze to create a 30-minute film to reflect the brand values and his vision of a vibrant world (Exhibit 18). Said Jonze: “Absolut wanted me to make something that was important to me, and let my imagination take me wherever I wanted.”27 The film was shown at the Sundance and Berlin film festivals to critical acclaim.

New Distribution Structure: Brand Companies & Market Companies

According to Vadim, Absolut’s previous owner was a classic centralized organization where standardized marketing decisions applied to all global markets, leaving local distributors with little say. This meant Absolut’s marketing department could implement visionary and creative solutions smoothly throughout the entire organization, albeit some proved challenging (and even controversial) in other markets. In contrast, the Pernod-Ricard model, highly decentralized, aimed “to operate as closely as possible to consumers”. With 85 direct affiliates worldwide, management favoured fast decision making to take advantage of its vast network. Each local affiliate was managed as a profit centre and given extensive autonomy.

The Pernod-Ricard organization was built around three entities: i) brand companies in charge of production and overall strategy for the brands, ii) market companies, linked to regions, in charge of distribution and activation of the brand portfolio, and iii) headquarters in Paris, in charge of overall strategy and cross-functional initiatives.

24 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Police_and_Fire_Widows%27_and_Children%27s_Benefit_Fund, accessed 14 November 2017

25 see the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6zVR0SgSOM , accessed 14 November 2017 26 http://rocnation.com/budweiser-dreams-are-made-jay-z-rihanna/, accessed 14 November 2017 27 Based on the recollections of Vadim’s conversation with Spike Jonze.

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Losing Momentum

In 2010, Absolut sold 10.4 million 9-litre cases compared to 10.7 million cases in 2007, reflecting a small decline in sales volumes. As sales flattened, a more cautious, research-oriented and consensus-driven marketing approach set in. As Absolute moved towards mainstream advertising, it became more aligned with other advertisers in the drinks industry (Exhibit 20). Absolut’s cultural activity also faded in terms of intensity. Competitors took note. Belvedere and Grey Goose began actively engaging cultural trendsetters.

As Absolut’s engagement with art lost prominence in the brand marketing mix, there were concerns that it had gone in too many different directions and even criticisms that it had sponsored things that were uncool, even vulgar, according to Vadim. Despite an absence of more than 10 years from the art scene, Absolut was still salient to art world insiders like Cecilia Dean, editor of Visionnaire magazine in New York: “I had no idea Absolut stopped its art campaign so many years ago! I thought it was still on.”28 Awareness and respect for Absolut’s iconic role was still strong.

By 2011, despite a positive image among spirits drinkers, Absolut’s appeal among opinion leaders had diminished somewhat compared with its heyday in the 1990s. In 2002, Forbes Magazine had ranked it the world’s number one luxury brand, confirming its desirability. By 2010, said Vadim, Absolut was compared to brands that were “good-value-for-money”. Jorg Koch, chief editor of Berlin’s edgy 032C magazine, remarked: “Absolut is like a Volkswagen: good quality for a fair price”.29

Vadim was alarmed that the decline in image would lead to scepticism about the quality of the product itself. In fact, as the third largest international spirits brand in the world, Absolut could no longer reconcile its size with aspirational capacity. For Vadim, Absolut had come up against the brand reputation paradox: the bigger it became, the more it lost steam.

Implementing a new Cultural Engagement Strategy

As CEO of Absolut since July 2009, Philippe Guettat was keen for the brand to reconnect with opinion leaders. Cultural engagement was the way to make the connection, but the strategy would have to be refocused to improve the brand’s image and the efficiency of marketing spend. In 2011, Vadim was recruited from a managerial position within the Pernod-Ricard organization to implement a new cultural engagement strategy for Absolut. At their first meeting, Philippe Guettat asked the following questions:

1. What should be the overall approach and objectives of the association of the Absolut brand with culture and art – now and in the future? What form of expression should Absolut adopt in different markets?

2. How can Absolut reconnect with the creative community and rebuild sympathy and respect for the brand? What part of the creative community should it focus on? How could it make opinion leaders ambassadors for Absolut?

28 Based on the recollections of Vadim’s conversation with Cecilia Dean. 29 Based on the recollections of Vadim’s conversation with Jorg Koch.

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3. Which Absolut event should become a ‘must-have’ reference in the cultural sphere?

Given six months to come up with the answers, Vadim needed to define the approach and propose detailed solutions as to how Absolut could regain its aspirational capacity through cultural engagement and tackle the brand reputation paradox (see Exhibit 21 milestones). First, he needed to address the following issues:

1. Should he work with an advertising agency or work directly with cultural insiders to develop the cultural engagement strategy?

2. Should he focus Absolut’s cultural come-back on the entire art universe – including graphic design, painting, music, fashion, photography – or on one or two of these creative fields?

3. How could he make the comeback unique and distinctive? What key principles of the cultural engagement strategy should Vadim develop?

4. Should he reinvent the bottle campaign? If so, how?

5. Was there a specific profile for the creative artists, designers and photographers to deliver the cultural engagement strategy? What kind of profiles should he avoid?

6. How should he manage and deploy the cultural engagement strategy throughout the Absolut organization?

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Exhibit 2 Absolut Warhol Ad by Andy Warhol, 1985

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Exhibit 4 Absolut Arman by Armand Arman, 1989 (a sculpture using 98 Absolut gift boxes and

paintbrushes)

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Exhibit 5 Absolut Ruscha by Ed Ruscha, 1988

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Exhibit 6 Absolut Keller by Björn Keller, 1998

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Exhibit 7 Absolut Britto by Romero Britto, 1989

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s P

roje

ct,

20

03

. (l

eft

) A

bso

lut

Bo

urg

eo

is (

“Oe

dip

us”

) b

y Lo

uis

e B

ou

rge

ois

, 2

00

3;

(rig

ht)

Ab

solu

t H

aro

nit

ak

i (“

Lou

ise

Bo

urg

eo

is”)

by

Asp

ass

io H

aro

nit

ak

i, 2

00

3

Co

py

rig

ht

© I

NS

EA

D

17

For the exclusive use of P. AMORES, 2022.

This document is authorized for use only by Patricio AMORES in MAR4836 FINAL PROJECT taught by Christos Christou, Florida National University from Mar 2022 to Sep 2022.

Ex

hib

it 9

A

bso

lut

Ge

ne

rati

on

s P

roje

ct,

20

03

. (t

op

) A

bso

lut

Ku

lik

(“T

he

Mu

seu

m”)

by

Ole

g K

uli

k,

20

03

; A

bso

lut

Blu

e N

ose

s (“

De

ath

in

V

en

ice

”) b

y B

lue

No

ses,

20

03

Co

py

rig

ht

© I

NS

EA

D

18

For the exclusive use of P. AMORES, 2022.

This document is authorized for use only by Patricio AMORES in MAR4836 FINAL PROJECT taught by Christos Christou, Florida National University from Mar 2022 to Sep 2022.

Exhibit 10 Absolut STYLE Four of 8-page Spread in Vogue, 1989

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This document is authorized for use only by Patricio AMORES in MAR4836 FINAL PROJECT taught by Christos Christou, Florida National University from Mar 2022 to Sep 2022.

Ex

hib

it 1

1.

Ab

solu

t G

en

era

tio

ns

Pro

jec

t, 2

00

3.

(le

ft)

Ab

solu

t W

olg

ers

(“

Ob

jec

t o

f O

bst

ruc

tio

n I

I”)

by

Da

n W

olg

ers

, 2

00

2;

Ab

solu

t F

ern

strö

m (

“T

he

Fe

nc

er”

) b

y L

inn

Fe

rnst

röm

, 2

00

2

Co

py

rig

ht

© I

NS

EA

D

20

For the exclusive use of P. AMORES, 2022.

This document is authorized for use only by Patricio AMORES in MAR4836 FINAL PROJECT taught by Christos Christou, Florida National University from Mar 2022 to Sep 2022.

Ex

hib

it 1

2

He

lmu

t N

ew

ton

Fa

shio

n S

ho

ot

for

Vo

gu

e,

19

95

Co

py

rig

ht

© I

NS

EA

D

21

For the exclusive use of P. AMORES, 2022.

This document is authorized for use only by Patricio AMORES in MAR4836 FINAL PROJECT taught by Christos Christou, Florida National University from Mar 2022 to Sep 2022.

Ex

hib

it 1

3

Ab

solu

t V

ers

ace

, 1

99

7,

Ph

oto

gra

ph

y b

y H

erb

Rit

ts

Co

py

rig

ht

© I

NS

EA

D

22

For the exclusive use of P. AMORES, 2022.

This document is authorized for use only by Patricio AMORES in MAR4836 FINAL PROJECT taught by Christos Christou, Florida National University from Mar 2022 to Sep 2022.

Ex

hib

it 1

4

Ab

solu

t G

ucc

i A

d,

19

99

(to

p)

an

d A

bso

lut

To

m F

ord

Ad

vert

ori

al,

20

00

(b

ott

om

), P

ho

tog

rap

hy

by

Ma

rio

Te

stin

o

Co

py

rig

ht

© I

NS

EA

D

23

For the exclusive use of P. AMORES, 2022.

This document is authorized for use only by Patricio AMORES in MAR4836 FINAL PROJECT taught by Christos Christou, Florida National University from Mar 2022 to Sep 2022.

Ex

hib

it 1

5

Ab

solu

t G

au

ltie

r, 2

00

2,

Ph

oto

gra

ph

y b

y Je

an

-Ba

pti

ste

Mo

nd

ino

Co

py

rig

ht

© I

NS

EA

D

24

For the exclusive use of P. AMORES, 2022.

This document is authorized for use only by Patricio AMORES in MAR4836 FINAL PROJECT taught by Christos Christou, Florida National University from Mar 2022 to Sep 2022.

Exhibit 16 Absolut Kravitz, a Collaboration with Lenny Kravitz, 2005

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This document is authorized for use only by Patricio AMORES in MAR4836 FINAL PROJECT taught by Christos Christou, Florida National University from Mar 2022 to Sep 2022.

Exhibit 17 Jay-Z and the Concert at the Madison Garden, 2009

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This document is authorized for use only by Patricio AMORES in MAR4836 FINAL PROJECT taught by Christos Christou, Florida National University from Mar 2022 to Sep 2022.

Ex

hib

it 1

8

"I a

m H

ere

", a

mo

vie

by

Sp

ike

Jo

nze

, 2

01

0;

Mo

vie

Po

ste

r (t

op

); S

cre

en

Sh

ot

(bo

tto

m)

Co

py

rig

ht

© I

NS

EA

D

27

For the exclusive use of P. AMORES, 2022.

This document is authorized for use only by Patricio AMORES in MAR4836 FINAL PROJECT taught by Christos Christou, Florida National University from Mar 2022 to Sep 2022.

Ex

hib

it 2

0

“In

An

Ab

solu

t W

orl

d”

Ca

mp

aig

n,

20

07

-20

09

Co

py

rig

ht

© I

NS

EA

D

28

For the exclusive use of P. AMORES, 2022.

This document is authorized for use only by Patricio AMORES in MAR4836 FINAL PROJECT taught by Christos Christou, Florida National University from Mar 2022 to Sep 2022.

Cop

yri

gh

t ©

IN

SE

AD

2

9

For the exclusive use of P. AMORES, 2022.

This document is authorized for use only by Patricio AMORES in MAR4836 FINAL PROJECT taught by Christos Christou, Florida National University from Mar 2022 to Sep 2022.

Exhibit 21 Absolut Key Milestones

1879 Lars Olsson Smith introduced in Sweden “Absolut rent Bränvin” (Absolutely pure vodka)

1979 Absolut vodka is launched in the USA 1980 The first Absolut bottle advertisement “Absolut Perfection”

1985 Andy Warhol paints Absolut vodka bottle, Absolut Art is born 1986 Launch of Absolut Peppar, the first in the family of flavoured Absolut

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This document is authorized for use only by Patricio AMORES in MAR4836 FINAL PROJECT taught by Christos Christou, Florida National University from Mar 2022 to Sep 2022.

1988 Partnership with fashion designer David Cameron, Absolut FASHION is born

1990 Absolut Glasnost project featuring 26 artists celebrating Russia on the brink of change (below: Absolut Kosolapov by Alexander Kosolapov)

1995 Helmut Newton shoots the Absolut Newton campaign 1997 Herb Ritts photographs the Absolut Versace campaign

Absolut Expressions Campaign featuring 14 African-American Artists (below Absolut Moore by Chevelle Makeba Moore)

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1998 Absolut Originals campaign, collaboration with 16 European artists: Damien Hirst, Murizio Cattelan, etc.

2000 Absolut becomes the 3rd largest premium spirit in the world 2002 Absolut Gaultier campaign photographed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino 2003 Absolut Generations at the 50th Venice Biennale of art. Absolut becomes the first ever

brand to be invited to be an official exhibitor at the Venice Biennale. Absolut stops large scale involvement with contemporary art.

2005 Absolut Kravitz campaign is launched, Absolut Music is born 2008 Pernod Ricard buys the maker of Absolut from the Swedish State 2008 Absolut launches pioneering online platform to exhibit Helmut Lang’s “Alles Gleich

Schwer” commission

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This document is authorized for use only by Patricio AMORES in MAR4836 FINAL PROJECT taught by Christos Christou, Florida National University from Mar 2022 to Sep 2022.

2009 Absolut underwrites Jay-Z’s benefit concert at Madison Square Garden 2010 I am Here, a Spike Jonze movie for Absolut is featured at the Sundance and Berlin

Film Festivals. 2011 Vadim is asked to orchestrate a focused cultural come-back strategy to reconnect with

opinion leaders

Copyright © INSEAD 33

For the exclusive use of P. AMORES, 2022.

This document is authorized for use only by Patricio AMORES in MAR4836 FINAL PROJECT taught by Christos Christou, Florida National University from Mar 2022 to Sep 2022.