"…but instead need to make real connections to their lives which we believe we are achieving with our new creative executions."

And they do this by intimating that all gay men are size queens? Our lives to them are nothing but getting drunk and chasing after cock? Only a het would come up with an ad like this and think it's representative of the LGBTQ community.

This ad is AWFUL !

I’m not sure that I can continue to support this brand or product.
Why is it that the creative execs so consistently choose the lowest common denominator? Sex is the only connection for the LGBT audience? That’s the best creative approach these guys can come up with? How about giving the LGBT community just a small amount of credit?

Absolut and it’s aging brand executives at Moon City and SPI once again took the old school approach and went for the sex line. It’s about as creative and smart as the Subaru ad “Wants To Be Driven Hard”. Give us a break. Some wasted kid from the mid-west can come up with something better than that and this is what you’re paying your New York “cutting edge” shop for?

You should be embarrassed for the brand and for your business decisions.

It's clever. How many ads for straight men appeal to their libidos?

it's clever marketing, honestly.
Absolut recognizes that the people who are spending their money on vodka are also probably going to end up placing more value on sex. This applies to heteros just as much as to us.
try to name a beer ad that doesn't make use of a large-breasted woman somewhere.

or course it's not cutting edge, or some grand artistic statement, because they're not aiming for innovation, they're just trying to sell the product, and they're doing so they best way they know how: by recognizing the value of sex in a society that still largely frowns upon it.

can they be blamed for selling their product in the most efficient manner?
that's just capitalism, folks; you're all a part of it.

Hells Kitchen Guy…
Are you serious? Pick up anything from Rolling Stone to Maxim magazine - ALL the ads play to the Libido.

There's nothing clever here. It's lazy creative.

I agree with Jason. The ad is pretty dull and not that clever, especially compared to Absolut's other print campaigns (gay and mainstream) over the years. I didn't even get it at first which shows where my mind is. I dont have a problem with selling sex but there are better, more cretive ways to sell (a fading brand) vodka like Absolut.

Let's calm down here with the accusations of gay stereotyping by Absolut. As some have said, advertising in general uses sex appeal, even in non-sexual products (Subaru?). This is VODKA. As Name (Required) pointed out, big-breasted women are used all the time.

We can debate whether this type of sex appeal is good marketing in general, but I don't think we can accuse them of treating their gay adverts more sexually.

I want me one of them there rulers.

I laughed out loud.

It makes fun of us in a sweet kind of way.

And Absolute is a huge corporate sponsor for GLBT orgs.

Jason, I think that was Hell's Kitchen Guy's point: that so many ads for straight men do appeal to their libido, so why should gay men be offended by a similar approach.

I thought 9 was the new 8?

This ad is not about sex; it's about self-esteem and equality. It's saying that in a perfect world everyone would be equally well-endowed. Thus, all men would feel confident in their size, and none would ever have to compare theirs to others or to exaggerate their size again.

How can you have a problem with that?

Also, it's really, really funny.

It's a clever ad; I agree with Hell's Kitchen Guy, most ads for straight folks focuses on sex, it's normal that this rule would prove true for gays too.

Aren't there enough alcoholics in our midst already? This is sad.

I think we've all lowered our standards if we think this is an appropriate way to market to us as adults.

We should demand and expect more from these marketers. The fact that they do indeed, market to us, is a good business decision. Nothing more, nothing less.

But nobody should be let off the hook in terms of good, smart creative which speaks to us as adults and not sex driven, shallow minded, size queens. We get the joke. It just sucks and it's in poor taste.

I laughed. It didn't even cross my mind to be offended. I suppose that those of you who are have never once been to an online hookup site, where almost every single man claims to have an 8-inch cock, a 32-inch waist, and a "swimmer's body."

Besides - it's vodka: a drink that prides itself on having no taste and no aroma. I never understood the point of it. Without marketing the only people drinking vodka would be Russian peasants.

I'm in the camp that thinks this is funny and clever. Not a bare torso in sight, just a simple ruler on a background.

Everyone at my office who has seen this does the same thing. They stare at it, think about it, then bust out laughing. Gay or straight, male or female, same reaction.

Did all these folks–including myself–"lower their standards" as Jason suggests when they got a chuckle out of the ad?

(LeBain, your "9 being the new 8" line was hilarious. Lately I have heard it called "the Chelsea 9" as well.)

Absolut has been advertising TO gay for ever. Have we taken a few steps backwards? Why would I care to see this in OUT - I am a woman who has nothing to do with this stupid ad.

Oh, this ad would be so true if I "ruled" the world!!

I'm pretty happy that Absolut has done this. Absolut has a Swedish heritage, and the majority of the Swedish population is a very very liberal bunch.

I wonder if this will continue now that Pernod bought V&S, and if we will be seeing these ads in Swedish LGBT media.

i didn't get the ad at first. Maybe if you're a drunk and a size queen ??

No offense but I was raised around a bunch of American Sweds , and I can't imagine a more reserved, even morose bunch. My home town was so Swedish, it was dry .

Jason, I couldn't agree with you more that we've lowered our standards as far as advertising goes. not just in the gay community, but in our society overall.
but can we fault a business for taking advantage of our low standards?

I really don't think the ad's too terrible, but if it is, you can't blame absolut for that; they're just playing the market.
if you've really got a problem with this ad, you should look to change the society which produced it.

Uh have you seen the Absolut ad with the implied female parts? I will need to find it but I think the caption is something like "In an absolute world everything comes naturally."

That's pretty funny. Get a sense of humor, Jason.

http://www.BitchRepublic.net

Oh I found the one I was looking for: In an Absolut World, true taste comes naturally.

With an image of an implied vagina.

I thought the ad was funny, and so has everyone I know who's seen it. Why overanalyze it? Where's everyone's senses of humor? At the end of the day, it's an ad to sell vodka. They're not trying to cure AIDS or pass ENDA with it.

Also, the ad's not patronizing like so many others are, with over-use of the rainbow flag, half-naked men and the word "fabulous."

there's nothing wrong with this ad. Its clever and memorable. There's also nothing really gay about it (straight men obsess about size too).

Whats gross is that Absolut sent out a press blitz announcing how wonderful and supportive they are with this ad. Brawny doesnt send out releases saying how they are pro-women because they use hunky guys in their paper-towel ads.