Absolut Vodka and the pulse of America?

Hat tip to the BAG news Notes

Absolute has been running it's perfect world campaign, well all over the world. These guys (and gals) are some pretty clever marketers. I've always been pretty impressed with Absolut's marketing and brand identity creations.
Have a look at French television ad, "Absolut Pillow Protest" which plays on the long standing tradition of street protests in France.

What I find most interesting about the American campaign, apart from it's sheer creativity, is their depictions of an unrealized progressive American landscape.

Take the first ad for example. Here we have a commuter bike lane on the bay bridge, which links San Francisco to Oakland.

The image bellow depicts Times Square re-covered with fine art, in place of all the busy electronic billboards and steaming video.



Here we have a depiction of the otherwise known urban concrete flood control ditch , the Los Angeles River is a lush urban greenbelt, filled with enough pristine-quality agua to support boats and other recreational watercraft.


The Real Los Angeles River


Now compare this image of interstate 10 during the Hurricane Katrina evacuation of New Orleans...

...to the Absolut world. Here the inbound freeway is jammed with trucks bringing in heavy machinery for building and reconstruction. Are these ads simply creative and "playful" or are they tapping into a deeper psyche among the American public which feels that government has been a failure and the "American Dream" isn't happening anymore? It's only coincidental that I posted this by Pew Research study which finds that a majority of the population now see the country as divided by the "haves" and "have nots."