Marketing review: Absolut Unique

I do not own any promotion material, they all belong to Absolut Vodka. This is a collector review.

One of a kind. Millions of expressions. That’s how Absolut Vodka sums up the new marketing campaign for their new limited edition, the Absolut unique.

Let’s get straight to the point: it is nothing but amazing, especially if you consider the design and communication aspects. There are 4 million bottles, and none of them look the same. Each bottle is literally one of a kind. In order to make it possible, Absolut had to re-engineer the entire factory, adding splash guns to the production line and developing an algorithm to create exclusive color patterns for every bottle. And, yeah, they are all numbered. It means you can go to a liquor store, choose your bottle from the shelf and be sure that you are the only one who will have it. It’s unique, indeed.

This is a new concept which brings Absolut marketing to a whole new level. Let’s face it: although there are plenty different editions, Absolut vodka is essentially the same. The flavors may differ, but many of the limited editions (I’ll mention some of them below) contain the same vodka. But it doesn’t matter, once their marketing team is not selling vodka. What they are actually selling is the bottle. And, of course, the concept around the bottle. Ultimately, that’s what marketing is about. It’s that simple.

Every year, Absolut marketers create brand new concepts for every limited edition. As I already said, it’s the same vodka, but the idea is never the same. I liked particularly the concept of the Glimmer edition, especially the light painting campaign, which didn’t use the vodka itself as the protagonist, but the bottle in a crystal shaped design which reflects light. It doesn’t surprise me, once the bottle – and not the vodka – is Absolut’s signature.

Then we have the Mode limited edition, which was particularly impressive due to the paradigm breaking, once the bottle was deconstructed and rebuilt in a multifaceted shape with a fabric label that fits better the fashion industry. Freaking fancy.

And then we come to Absolut Unique…

Ok, if you are still reading, you probably agree that Absolut is not selling vodka, but a concept. And what concept is that which is being sold by the Unique edition? We don’t have to dig that deep, actually, because they are already giving us the answer: individuality. “With Absolut Unique, Absolut Vodka creates millions of uniquely designed bottles for a world of individuals,” they say. But those individuals are not that individual, of course; they are all fond of the same things: pop art expressions, a classy and sophisticated (but cool) lifestyle and a self impression which states “I am unique.” In a post-modern world, where people can be anything they can possibly imagine, all they wanna be is unique.

And that’s why they will like their truly unique numbered bottles. (G.P.)