Absolut loses its bottle

Julia Day
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday May 8 2001 14.41 BST

Absolut Vodka is experimenting with advertising that leaves out its famous vodka bottle image.

The minimalist Absolut bottle has featured in the brand's advertising for 21 years but, although the device will not disappear, the company is looking at new ways of presenting the brand.

An eight-page advertising insert to appear in Time later this month features photographs of Swedish landscapes shot by the legendary fashion photographer, Helmut Newton.

The bottle reference appears on only one page of the insert.

Absolut's vice president of marketing, Eva Kemper-Forsberg, said although the project was a one-off collaboration with Newton, the brand was considering similar projects.

Linking up with artists or fashion designers to produce similar advertising was a possibility, said Ms Kemper-Forsberg, who denied consumers were tired of the vodka bottle concept

"We believe in the strategy of the bottle image within ads - and we can do new things with it to surprise our audience - but we will be experimenting even more and the Newton insert is a good example of that," said Ms Kemper-Forsberg.

The vodka brand, owned by Vin & Spirit, has a long-term relationship with the advertising agency, TBWA Chiat Day.