Absolut Vodka Brand | Alcoholic Beverages Industry | Swedish Brands

Absolut
web saavy
by Ian Cocoran
May 14, 2001

It’s Scandinavian, you need to be over 18 to try it and it’s great when you do it with friends, but there’s more than just innuendo behind the success of Absolut Vodka, one of Sweden’s most prominent brands. Indeed, the Absolut Vodka range is now one of Sweden’s biggest exports and the brand name is as synonymous with its homeland as Volvo, Abba and Saab.

But how does it fare on the World Wide Web – a medium that’s as transparent as an Absolut bottle? If animation’s your thing then you’ll just love this site. The homepage consists of a range of vibrant and audible introductions that can be sent to your friends as e-cards, while also serving to welcome the viewer to a dynamic and interactive web experience that you won’t quickly forget.

In terms of content, the Absolut Lights section is most definitely worth a visit and illustrates in detail one of the company’s more creative ventures. The Advertising section is probably one of the most powerful examples of Internet branding that you’ll find on the web today – completely consistent with Absolut’s creative-approach to advertising. The standard stuff like corporate info and product information is there in abundance too, but it’s the ways in which Absolut gets its message across that are key to the site’s success. Take the Absolut Truth section for instance. This section passes up an opportunity to follow the corporate herd and bore the viewer to death by presenting reams of typography based on boring company facts. Rather it launches into a series of feature movies instead, to drive the brand home with a sledgehammer.

Without shadow of a doubt, Absolut.com is a shining example of how to bring a brand to the Internet, and despite the use of technology in the extreme, the site never loses control of its message or the emotional issues that encapsulate the brand. Indeed, the Absolut culture comes across to the viewer in spades, and the feel of the site is both sophisticated and bohemian all at once, underpinning Absolut’s arty advertising campaigns and retaining consistency with what the brand stands for.

Ian Cocoran is an Operations Director with one of the world's largest chemical distributors. He has an MBA in Marketing from the Buckinghamshire Business School and lives in Glasgow, Scotland, with his wife Kate and daughter Lucy.

*Due to the constantly changing environment of websites, some reviews may no longer reflect the current website for this brand.


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