Marketing, Social Problems, Graphic Arts & Book Design - History

Absolut Biography of a Bottle

Name: Absolut Biography of a Bottle
Author: Carl Hamilton
ISBN: 9781587990021

by Carl Hamilton

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Overview

While conducting research in business ethics, Carl Hamilton discovered that the official history of Absolut's advertising success was somewhat less than 100% pure. The ideas behind the campaign should have been credited to the junior guys, not to the high profile ad men on Madison Avenue, nor to the suits at hip TBWA. The history of the bottle began in the 1970s with three Swedish designers. Their concept broke every rule; it was everything a vodka bottle cannot—must absolutely not—be. The design, however, won the award for the year's best American design and a Madison Avenue ad agency took the credit. The Swedish vodka in the ugly bottle made a chance debut at Studio 54 and soon became a huge success. Every ad agency involved claimed the triumph for themselves—especially those that initially rejected the winning designs. When Vin & Spirits—the state owned producer of Absolut—discovered that Hamilton was to write a book about his findings, they tried every strong-arm tactic to halt its publication. The book, however, became an instant bestseller in Sweden and won the prize for "Best Journalism of the Year."

Author Biography: Carl Hamilton is one of Sweden's original literary voices. He is a television host of the critically acclaimed show Dilemma, a political commentator, and a columnist for Scandinavia's largest popular newspaper Aftonbladet. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden.

About the Author, Carl Hamilton

Carl Hamilton is one of Sweden's most provocative and original literary voices, television host of the critically acclaimed show 'Dilemma', a political commentator and a columnist in Scandinavia's largest popular newspaper, Aftonbladet. In the tradition of Sweden's great nineteenth century writer, August Strindberg, Hamilton uses black wit to expose public hypocrisy. His previous works include the life story of Egyptian born industrialist Refaat El-Sayed, and several collections of essays.

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Editorials

Nils Schwartz

Informative and entertaining. (Nils Schwartz, Expressen)

Soundview Executive Book Summaries

Twenty years ago, a Swedish vodka was poised to break into the tough American market, but its transparent bottle was dismissed as completely unmarketable. Today, Absolut Vodka has exceeded anyone's wildest expectations and has become the best-selling import vodka in the United States, thanks in part to a groundbreaking advertising campaign that combined hip celebrity with unique artistic designs. Absolut chronicles this amazing campaign from its inception to the present in a witty and incisive business story. Copyright (c) 2002 Soundview Executive Book Summaries