Nokia:::The Power of We

Nokia is used to connecting people from far flung corners of the globe, but it wanted to take this relationship a step further, to unite those people behind a global cause. Problems such as global warming are of such magnitude it can often seem beyond our abilities as individuals to have an impact.

‘The Power of We’ aimed to create a cohesive environmental approach not only for Nokia’s 5,000 strong workforce but for its billion customers worldwide. It puts forward the idea that problems seemingly insurmountable to us as individuals can be overcome if we work together.

Initially implemented back in 2007, the first step was to unite Nokia’s 60 international offices that had until then been operating as disparate entities on the environmental front. The target was to inform at minimum 50% of Nokia’s global workforce of its environmental vision, and sign-up a minimum of 1,000 people as active champions of sustainability. Only when this target had been achieved did Nokia begin targeting its billion-strong customer base.

A variety of channels and tactics including screensavers, laptop and furniture stickers, animations, videos, installations, events and multimedia messages sent to phones were used to spread the message and encourage involvement. Longer term initiatives such as the we:reward and the we:champion scheme recognised those who made positive changes in their work or led by example on the environmental front.

In order to avoid overloading employees and consumers with eco message much of the creative unfolded through quarterly themes, around which events and content are introduced incrementally. Recycling, excessive flying and energy awareness were all dealt with using interactive events, humour and digital content.

The Power of We has so far proved very successful. Internal awareness is at 75% and event participation at 20%. Over 1200 we:champions have signed up in 25 countries. In addition, employees have made over 4000 pledges through we:reward. Recycling events proved particularly popular, and increased rates by 600%.

BRAND:Nokia

BRAND OWNER:Nokia

CATEGORY:Telecoms/ Mobile

REGION:Global

DATE:Jan 2007

AGENCY:Naked

MEDIA CHANNEL

Clorox bleaches bad publicity

As the company responsible for inventing and marketing bleach, Clorox found itself facing the brunt of environmental campaigners' anger. For its new product, Green Works Natural Cleaner, to be successful, it would have to convince those same campaigners of its environmental credentials.

Green Works Natural Cleaner is 99% plant based giving Clorox the idea to reverse out a mural of plants and trees. It called on the services of Paul ‘Moose’ Curtis, a pioneer of the art form known as clean tagging, to design a mural. The 140 foot wall of San Francisco’s Broadway Tunnel, chosen because it is a high-traffic, dirty location, became Curtis’ canvas.

Award-winning documentary maker Doug Pray was commissioned to shoot a short film around the creation of the mural. Initially screened on YouTube to gain maximum exposure, a dedicated website was set up to show the documentary and give the public a behind the scenes look at the campaign.

In its first week, the documentary became YouTube’s number 1 featured video, receiving over 500,000 views. Overall, the campaign generated a media value of $2.1 Million and resulted in 7.5 Million media impressions, turning a negative perception of Clorox into a positive one. Within 6 months, Green Works had become the number 1 selling product in the natural cleaning category.

BRAND :Clorox

BRAND OWNER ;The Clorox Company

CATEGORY :Household Goods

REGION :USA

DATE :Apr 2008 - May 2008

Agency: DDB

MEDIA CHANNEL

Coca Cola:::Big reminder to recycle

Coke wanted to remind the public of the benefits of recycling – that it is 20 times more efficient to recycle a can than to produce one from scratch and produces 20 times less CO2.

Coke commissioned artist Robert Bradford to create a 50-metre sculpture made solely out of recycled aluminium cans. Dubbed ‘Precious Metal’, the sculpture was unveiled at its location on the Sussex Coastline to mark the start of Recycle Week (22 -28th June).

It took over a week to complete and is 50 metres in length.

The finished structure, a recreation of a classic 1949 Coke billboard of a bikini-clad woman relaxing in the sun, is the world’s biggest recycled artwork. Bradford led a team of artists on the project that can only be fully viewed from the air.

For the campaign Coke teamed up with the Waste and Resource Action Programme (WRAP). Together they have installed 20 active Recycle Zones, designed to make it easier to recycle bottles and cans when out and about, around the UK. A further 60 are planned for 2011.

BRAND:Coca Cola

BRAND OWNER:The Coca Cola Co.

CATEGORY:Drinks (non-alcoholic)

REGION:UK

DATE:Jun 2009

Agency:Exposure

MEDIA CHANNEL

The Zimbabwean:::Not worth the paper it's printed on

Throwing money at a problem isn’t usually the best solution. But that’s exactly what the owners of Zimbabwe’s national newspaper, The Zimbabwean, did to focus the world’s attention on the difficulties currently faced by its countries people.

Under the dictatorship of Mugabe, Zimbabwe has sunk into such a state of hyperinflation that its currency is now practically worthless. The Zimbabwean itself has become an unaffordable commodity for most in the country as a 55% luxury tax was placed on it – The owners are currently in exile after printing a story about Mugabe’s election rigging.

Rather than describe the difficulties faced by its paper and the country’s inhabitants, The Zimbabwean decided to go with something more tangible. A team of volunteers from around the world, led by London based editor Wilf Mbanga, founder and first chief executive of Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe, produced print advertisements using the devalued currency as paper.

Billboards and wall murals ran with the slogan ‘Thanks To Mugabe This Money Is Wallpaper’, printed on Zimbabwean Trillion dollar notes. The campaign message was also printed onto individual currency used as flyers and sent to media personalities to raise awareness.

The Trillion Dollar Campaign won the Cannes Grand Prix for Outdoor. More importantly, though, it has highlighted the plight of the people of Zimbabwe – a story with a tendency to flit in and out of the public eye - in a visually striking and immediately comprehensible way.

BRAND:The Zimbabwean

CATEGORY:Publishing & Broadcasting

DATE:Apr 2009

Agency:TBWA

MEDIA CHANNEL

Absolut Brand

There is a lot
of talk about
BRANDING
these days
on the web.
I am not a
branding expert by any
means, but I know a good branding
campaign when I see one. One of the most
successful, most iconic AD campaigns in modern
history was done by Absolut Vodka. The campaign
transcended the reach of advertising, became part of
modern pop culture. To me, it was a showcase of art,
creativity and humanness at its finest. The 1500 or so
ADs made Absolut Vodka the most recognizable brand.
** “The Bottle Campaign” was way ahead of its time. **

ABSOLUT BOOK

“Absolut advertising is celebrated not just for its longevity but also for its ingenuity. Readers tear out the ads and hang them on their walls. Librarians have to guard their magazines from being de-Absoluted. College student actually collect and trade ads. A SoHo antique shop hawks copies of ABSOLUT WONDERLAND, while a Madison Avenue newsstand carefully razors the Absolut pages from its stock and sells them for a few dollars apiece (naturally, selling the magazines as well). What’s going on here?

Readers enjoy a relationship with this advertising that they have with few other advertising campaigns, especially in the print media. They are challenged, entertained, tickled, inspired, and maybe even befuddled as they try to figure out what’s happening inside an Absolut ad.”

-Richard W. Lewis, Absolut Book

I remember buying a magazine just for the Absolut Ad when I was younger. There’s a particular quality about the Absolut Ads that fascinated me. They were loud and subtle; worldly and intimate; retro and futuristic; aloof and sincere, abstract and explicit. Sometimes it seemed as if the whole campaign was a great art collection disguised as liquor Ads.

The Absolut campaign began in 1981, by TBWA. At the time, Absolut was selling 20,000 cases annually in the U.S., by 1995, the sales were over 3 million cases.

I recently bought my second copy of “Absolut Book.” The first copy I bought in the 90s got lost after a few moves. This time around, I’m actually taking the time to read the stories behind the campaign, rather than being lost in the art.

For Absolut fans, I strongly recommend this book and its sequel, fittingly named Absolut Sequel.

The book is written by Richard W Lewis, the TBWA account manager who oversaw the brand’s campaign. He gives great insights on the beginning of the Swiss Vodka maker, long before the popular phrase “Absolut ____” started. He also gives behind the scene details on each mini series.

ABSOLUT OBJECTS

ABSOLUT CITIES

ABSOLUT ART

ABSOLUT FASHION

ABSOLUT THEME ART

ABSOLUT FLAVORS

ABSOLUT EUROCITIES

ABSOLUT FILM & LITERATURE

ABSOLUT TAILOR-MADE

The “Bottle Campaign” has long ended. It effectively served the purpose of establishing the brand. Now Absolut Vodka has moved on to other Ad campaigns such as “In an Absolut World.

ABSOLUT SEQUEL

The ABSOLUT advertising story continues ...It’s been named one of the 10 best campaigns of the 20th century by America’s Advertising Age Magazine.

The iconic images of the ABSOLUT bottle - painted, deconstructed, reconstructed, dressed, undressed, decorated and transformed - have been created by some of the best-known and respected visual artists, wordsmiths and designers.

“The creative connections that the adverts in ABSOLUT SEQUEL portray are truly unique and sometimes surprising, from collaborations with rock stars to architects. Almost 10 years on from the launch of ABSOLUT BOOK, it is a timely follow-up on how the ABSOLUT brand’s iconic imagery has developed over this period and its continued advertising success,” says Michael Persson, Brand Director for ABSOLUT VODKA at V&S Absolut Spirits in Stockholm.

It’s this success that inspires Lewis: “Why are ABSOLUT ads so memorable? Why do collectors crave them? Why are famous artists and writers enthusiastic about creating them? The concept is easy and the execution brilliant. First, two simple words – and the first is always the same – second, a single stunning, image that complements the headline. Like a couple in love. It proves that advertising doesn’t have to be complicated; rather, advertising can and should respect people for their wit and intelligence. The most impressive, impfactful ads are often the simplest. This

knowledge is key to the ABSOLUT brand’s success.”

Absolut Vodka is one of the most recognizable and innovative brands in the world. Driven by their trademark Absolut ad publications. Absolut Vodka has taken a simple product, and created hundreds of different advertisements. Absolut has stayed ahead of the game with their unique ideas, and consistency within the brand. In this post, we will explore the consistent elements, the unique differences, and several different ad campaigns. Using their product as the star of the show, Absolut has created clever ad campaigns by using simple ideas, and great placement to build a fantastic brand.

Creating A Brand

We all recognize the advertisement when we see it, not just the logo but it’s full page of glory. Most companies put all their hard work into creating a recognizable logo and brand. Take Nike and McDonald’s for example, their logos are recognized world wide.

Absolut took a different approach to creating their brand. They didn’t just pour millions of dollars into the design of the logo, instead they focused on creating a recognizable brand for their product. Because of their their strong branding consumers worldwide recognize their logo, their product, and their ad campaigns. Seeing any of the design elements that are carried through the brand, we automatically know that we are looking at an Absolut ad.

Absolut Homage

Absolut Piercing

Absolut Broadband

Absolut Grail

Absolut Security

Absolut Time

Absolut Topless

Absolut Voted Off

Absolut Hip Hop

Absolut Iguana

Absolut Marilyn

Absolut Rudolph

Absolut Rex

Revisions Of A Good Idea

Absolut Original

Absolut Pride Rainbow

Absolut Y2K

Absolut Hitchcock

Absolut Revealed

Absolut Kurant

Absolut Collections

From time to time, Absolut creates a collection or family of ads. These ads are usually found in the same publication, or found in a series of publications that relate to each other.

The Absolut Sin Collection is based on the seven sins; Absolut Seven, Absolut Gluttony, Absolut Greed, Absolut Sloth, Absolut Envy, Absolut Wrath, Absolut Pride, and Absolut Lust. Introduced in Australia, Summer 2001, the collection sticks together with consistent elements and layout. The traditional dark silhouette background, and the beautiful, clear, bottled product.

Absolut Seven

Absolut Gluttony

Absolut Greed

Absolut Sloth

Absolut Envy

Absolut Wrath

Absolut Pride

Absolut Lust

Getting Creative With a Trademark

To keep the brand alive and fresh, Absolut Vodka has created some advertisements that don’t fit the standard brand. Absolut got creative with different respected musicians and artists. Not only this but used simple ideas and just placed their trademark vodka bottle in a very clever placement.

Absolut Exposure

Absolut Image

Absolut Voyeur

Absolut Gets Artsy

Surrender to a peach

Absolut Release

Absolut Release

Absolut Steadman

Stepping Away From the Brand

Good brands know when and how to take risks, and how to deliver time after time. How does a brand stay so strong by just working with a simple vodka bottle? Well Absolut has strayed away from the usual Absolut Bottle Spotlight ads from time to time. In An Absolut World is an ad campaign that stands alone, has no elements from their standard ad campaign, except for the font choice and product. These ads are much more creative and there is more of a story to be told with these ads.

Absolut Factory

Absolut Perfect

Absolut Pregnant

Absolut Goat

Absolut Ice Cubes

In An Absolut World Product Campaign

Absolut Mango

Absolut Pear

Further Resources

• Absolut Vodka
  The official website of Absolut Vodka.
• Absolut Ad
  Website devoted to collecting, purchasing and researching Absolut ads.
• Absolut Unknown
  Website devoted to Absolut Advertisements.
• Ads of the World
  Popular website featuring ads around the world.

Absolut – Swim

Absolut – Protest

Absolut – Cab

Absolut – Moon

Absolut - Swimming Pool

Absolut - Protest

Absolut – Moon

Absolut Marilyn, 1996:

Absolut Boston, 1999:

Absolut Recycled, 2002:

Absolut Warhol, 1985:

Absolut Haring, 1986:

Absolut Frabel, 1987:

Absolut Bangkok, 2005:

Absolut Kitsch, 2006:

Absolut Pears, 2007:

Absolut Attraction, 2008:

 

Absolut Mango, 2008:

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