Which is worse: that Absolut vodka is commodifying Mexico’s claim to its lost northern territories (Aztlan), or the predictable uptight gringo backlash? From the Daily 49er, the Cal State Long Beach student newspaper, April 15:
Mexican booze ad not intoxicating to U.S. buyers
A recent Absolut Vodka ad running in Mexico City has shaken, not stirred, some of the American public. With its recent advertising campaign strategy, Absolut attempts to tap into some very real nationalistic sentiment of Mexico.The colorful ad outlines a pre-1848 border of Mexico, which included the areas known as California, Arizona, Utah, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado. The ad’s text reads “In An Absolut World,” and clearly identifies Mexico’s Aztlan as a land lost.
The “Absolut World” campaign which draws on what the website refers to as “bold ideas,” has not been as appreciated in the U.S.
Although the ad only appeared in Mexico, the far-reaching ability of the Internet has hastened some of the U.S. public’s bitterness toward the ad. In its viral footprints, there have been multiple blog postings from people commending the ad, but more often the comments have been something like, “I will Absolut-ly be ordering Sky now.”
Give it up, gringos. Mexico will inevitably win the demographic battle for the Southwest. We only hope that Liberated Aztlan will not become a wholly-owned subsidiary of corporate interests seeking to piggy-back off the struggle…
See our last posts on Mexico and the struggle for the border, and the media culture wars.
