Absolut: Biography of a Bottle

Absolut: Biography of a Bottle

by Carl Hamilton (Author)

Synopsis

While conducting research in business ethics, Carl Hamilton discovered that the official history of Absolut's advertising success was somewhat less than 100 per cent 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 became a huge success. Every ad agency involved claimed the triumph for themselves - especially those that initially rejected the winning design. 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.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 312
Edition: illustrated edition
Publisher: Texere Publishing
Published: 25 Nov 2000

ISBN 10: 1587990024
ISBN 13: 9781587990021

Media Reviews
Nils Schwartz, Expressen Informative and entertaining Per Vgren, Kulturnytt ... as with Tom Wolfe, the reader may detect an amused, icy gleam in the corner of his eye, as the author superbly swings from one scene to another. Public Relations Quarterly, Summer 2001 If looking for the inside details of the players, issues and events surrounding the birth of the brand, this book it it. Times Literary Supplement, July 27, 2001 Hamilton allows readers an insight into the nature of its (Absolut) success, and into the Swedish mentality as well. Business Voice, March, 2001 The Absolut story offers a unique insight into the advertising industry. It comes across as brilliantly inspirational and bloody-minded.
Author Bio
Carl Hamilton is one of Sweden's most provocative and 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. In the tradition of Sweden's great nineteenth century writer, August Strindberg, Hamilton uses black wit to expose public hypocrisy.