Absolut builds new campaign around rediscovered Andy Warhol bottle painting

In 1985, Andy Warhol painted two versions of the Absolut vodka bottle. One was used in the famous “Absolut Warhol” ad, the first of what would eventually be more than 500 ads over 20 years featuring artist renditions of the bottle’s outline. The other painting went missing—before mysteriously turning up at auction in 2020. That second painting, titled “Absolut Warhol Blue,” is the centerpiece of a new campaign from the Swedish vodka brand that includes ads as well as a limited-edition bottle featuring the same imagery—creating a kind of bottle-on-bottle packaging effect. The campaign is produced in partnership with the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, revitalizing the original Warhol partnership and “emphasizing the transformative power of creativity through art,” according to the brand. The foundation will receive a portion of proceeds from sales, just as it did 10 years ago when the brand made bottles based on Warhol’s first painting. The advertising effort includes a lot of out-of-home, including a pop-up at Amsterdam Airport as well as 3D OOH media and in-store display units at other airports, from London Heathrow to Dubai International, Sao Paulo to Sydney, Madrid to Santo Domingo. The bottle will be available in global travel retail only for the first two months, then roll out in more than 50 additional global markets beginning in September. The campaign also includes the film below, directed by Santiago Sierra Soler. “We are thrilled to collaborate with the Andy Warhol Foundation to reintroduce this timeless Absolut Warhol artwork,” said Deb Dasgupta, VP of global marketing at Absolut. “Embracing our values of inclusivity and a commitment to fostering a culture of boundless creative expression, we aim to unite diverse voices and spark meaningful conversations to inspire positive change through the transformative power of art. With the limited-edition bottle, we are excited to offer consumers everywhere a chance to become part of the Absolut Warhol legacy and to own their own piece of artwork.” See more imagery below. Popular Creativity stories from Ad Age: Sign up for our daily Creativity newsletter to see the best stories of the day.

Absolut builds new campaign around rediscovered Andy Warhol bottle painting

Featured Stories