Absolut Kafuffle: Advertisers, Bloggers and Aftershocks

I came across an article in AdAge today that got me thinking. To make a long story short, this country-specific Absolut Ad from Mexico was found amusing by the original blogger, Laura Martinez, who posted to her site on March 31. See her original blog post here.

The result? Hundreds of furious blog comments, stories in the LA Times and Austin American Statesman and finally, a public apology from the makers of Absolut on April 4. Timeline? 5 Days.

This ad depicts Mexico's original borders. For Americans, does it provoke strong feelings for people on various sides of the immigration debate? Of course.

This ad ran in print publications in Mexico only. But in today's global communication landscape, words, images and photos spread virally across the internets at lightning speed. Organizations (and individuals alike) simply cannot operate under the impression that something shown in country X won't be seen by country Y.

Absolut likely angered many people and lost customers during this process. However, they also got tons of free press because of a chain reaction started by a blogger. Will customers stay angry enough to stop buying Absolut? Time will tell, but my guess is no.

What exactly does great advertising do? It grabs your attention and provokes an emotional response. Mission Accomplished.

And Laura? You have a new fan.