Absolut challenges artists to create next artwork for vodka brand

By November 10, 2018ISDose

Over the last four decades Absolut has worked with more than 550 of the world’s top artists, including Keith Haring, Arman Armand, Romero Britto and Maurizio Cattelan, resulting in over 800 art pieces. Now, the vodka brand is looking for its newest creative voice with a global competition.

Absolut is launching its biggest collaboration effort in its history, encouraging creatives from all over the world to create expressions that bring to life what one of the drink’s brand beliefs mean to them. The beliefs are centered on creating a more open, equal and inclusive world and make up the creative platform, ‘Create a Better Tomorrow, Tonight’.

The international Absolut Creative Competition will reach 20 countries across the world with the mission to find the next bold creative voice of the brand. The competition entries will be judged by a global jury of leading creative voices.

The competition aims to celebrate creativity and harness the power artists have to envision and create a better tomorrow. Artworks can be submitted through the brand’s dedicated webpage through 31 January 2019. The site also features the posters of the past, with descriptions of each artist and poster.

To promote the competition, Absolut worked with director Oscar Hudson and creative agency BBH on two films that capture the spirit of the competition. In them, artists walk through a cityscape that represents the generations of artistic posters created by noted artists. It ends with the question: “Are you next?”

The competition winner will have his or her work amplified on Absolut’s social media and digital channels and will also then have the work displayed on an iconic out-of-home site such as Piccadilly Circus or Times Square.

In addition, he or she will receive a €20,000 cash prize and be invited to the global announcement event in May 2019.

Aaron Cezar is the first jury member to be named. He is the founding director of the London-based Delfina Institute, where over the last 10 years he has positioned the Delfina Foundation as a meeting point and incubator of creative talent, forming partnerships with leading institutions internationally.

Cezar stated in a release: “I am excited to be part of the Absolut Creative Competition and I am inspired by its objectives to create a more open world through creativity. I have long observed how the arts, alongside other disciplines and creative thinking as a whole, can be a way of understanding some of the problems of the world and envisioning our potential to address them.”

Sina Neubrandt, senior global marketing manager at Absolut, added: “Creativity can spark conversation and drive change. This is why Absolut’s latest campaign celebrates the power that creativity has for making a real difference in the world. We’re excited to see the entries and celebrate the winner in May.”

This article first appeared in www.thedrum.com

Guest Author: Kyle O’Brien is The Drum’s Creative Works editor, covering the creative industry. He is based in Pennsylvania and works in The Drum’s New York office. Weekly features include US Creative Works, Ads We Like, Creative Work of the Week and Creative Director’s Choice. He is also a professional saxophone player.