Is This Absolut Ad Cheeky Or Distasteful?

Absolut is running an ad in Mexico that some in this country are finding offensive because it favorably depicts our borders as they existed before the 1848 Mexican-American war. We’re going to bite and talk about the ad even though it means that the advertisers win and America dies just a bit more.

The campaign taps into the national pride of Mexicans, according to Favio Ucedo, creative director of leading Latino advertising agency Grupo Gallegos in the U.S.

Ucedo, who is from Argentina, said: “Mexicans talk about how the Americans stole their land, so this is their way of reclaiming it. It’s very relevant and the Mexicans will love the idea.”

But he said that were the campaign to run in the United States, it might fall flat.

“Many people aren’t going to understand it here. Americans in the East and the North or in the center of the county — I don’t know if they know much about the history.

“Probably Americans in Texas and California understand perfectly and I don’t know how they’d take it.”

Meanwhile, the campaign has been circulating on the blogs and generating strong responses from people north of the border.

“I find this ad deeply offensive, and needlessly divisive. I will now make a point of drinking other brands. And ‘vodka and tonic’ is my drink,” said one visitor, called New Yorker, on MexicoReporter.com.

Reader Paul Green goes into a discussion on the blog Gateway Pundit of whether the U.S. territories ever belonged to Mexico in the first place, and the News12 Long island site invited people to boycott Absolut, with one user, called LivingSmall, writing: “If you drink Absolut vodka, you can voice your approval or disapproval of this advertising campaign with your purchases. I know I will be switching to Grey Goose or Stoli and will never have another bottle of Absolut in my house.

Um, honestly, we didn’t pick up the history thing at first glance. We heard it was running in Mexico and immediately understood the intrinsic appeal. As far as we can tell, it’s cute and funny and will obviously incite hordes of Mexicans to race north against earthquakes to reclaim our once-picturesque frontier. Watch out, Alta Californians!

What do you think?

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Mexico reconquers California? Absolut drinks to that! [L.A. Times]
(Photo: MexicoReporter)