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.

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.”

With an image of an implied vagina.

http://www.BitchRepublic.net

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.

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 .

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

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.)

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.

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.

How can you have a problem with that?

Also, it’s really, really funny.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.