Absolut's new campaign: Celebrate homosexuality

The vodka company that envisions an "Absolut" world in which Mexico regains the U.S. Southwest is now unveiling two new "lifestyle-driven" ads focused on homosexual men and their "members," and same-sex couples.

Calling itself the "preferred brand of vodka for gay and lesbian consumers," the Absolut Spirits Co. says it's targeting homosexuals for the first time with a campaign "embracing both the humorous and socially conscious."

"Absolut challenges the status quo by presenting a bold and optimistic worldview that speaks directly to gay men and women," the company said in a news release. "The campaign visually answers the questions 'what if everything in the world were approached with the same ideals that Absolut approaches vodka?'"

The ads began appearing late last month in local and national "LGBT media," or lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender.

As WND reported, the company also has a print ad that reconfigures North America according to the aspirations of many Mexicans, who believe the U.S. Southwest was stolen and should be returned. Major Hispanic civil rights groups in the U.S., such as the National Council of La Raza, are tied to movements advocating a "reconquista," or reconquest, of territory lost when Mexico signed the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo at the end of the Mexican-American War.

The Absolut Spirits Co. is the New York-based importer of the Swedish vodka maker.

One new ad, called "Ruler," takes "a humorous look at gay men and their fascination with perfect, eight-inch 'member' measurements," the company says.

In another, titled "Stadium," the marketing campaign "engages on the issue of gay marriage when one half of a gay couple 'pops' the question during a sports outing."

The ads were created by the partnership of SPI Marketing and Moon City in New York, building "on a heritage of advertisements that prominently featured gay artists since 1984."

Absolut spokesman Jeffrey Moran said that as a "long-time supporter of the gay and lesbian community, we acknowledge that you can't simply speak to gay men and lesbians as consumers, but instead need to make real connections to their lives which we believe we are achieving with our new creative executions."

"As a company, we respect gay men and lesbians not simply in advertising messages, but behind the scenes as well," he said. "We're not gay-washing here."

Absolut notes it was one of the first major brands to place an ad in a homosexual-themed magazine 27 years ago "and is a long-time supporter of events and causes important to the gay and lesbian community."

The company's statement said it will "continue its place in gay and lesbian print publications with new creative, tailored to this target audience, and move beyond to www.absolut.com where visionaries and online users from around the world are encouraged to share and discuss their visions of an Absolut world."

John Nash, president of the marketing company Moon City, said that while the campaign was "inspired by a gay point of view," it can "easily be appreciated by many people."

"Gay men and women have long felt connected to the artistic legacy of the brand, and these new ads leverage that connection by making the brand relevant in a smart, personal way for gay men and lesbians today," he said.

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