Absolut Mexico!
[Image: Meant to post this earlier in the month when I came across it; a pretty ballsy add by Absolut Vodka that ran in Mexico. I guess it caused quite a stir from the American consumer market though (as if Absolut were trying to inspire some vodka-infused borracho 'reconquista' of the Southwest -- what a joke). So, it was pulled. Too bad. With all the border security madness going on I like the timing. Just shows how paranoid Americans can be. Unfortunate that Absolut caved in. The ad used a map of the border as it existed before the Mexican-American War of 1848. The whole thing actually speaks to me about the U.S.'s fondness for forgetting history, and through some good old fashioned alcoholic labeling, nonetheless. I don't know, there's some drunken historic amnesiac message in a bottle there to decode.]
posted by Bryan Finoki • Permalink
4 Comments:
I saw this on a billboard when I was visiting Mexico City a few weeks ago. My initial reaction was negative since it appeared that they were trying to make money off of the nationalistic Mexico stereotype. Then I just took it at face value and found it silly and dumb, like every other ad.
Another reaction from someone in the group went something like "It's good the border isn't like that today because if it was, people would have to go so much further to cross it." That got a good response from the rest of us.
The ad begs to be over-analyzed, but no matter the reaction, it's a memorable image and Absolut won't soon be forgotten, for good or bad.
I think you got it right the very first time. Forgetful or revisionist both work and are used regularly.
I found the ad offensive due to absolute vodka's intentional campaign to incite hostilities and exploit teh current immigration problems betwen Mexico & the U.S. I do not applaud absolute vodk'as self-serving tactics at all.
As for more accurate historical point of view: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed on February 2, 1848 by American diplomat Nicholas Trist, ended the war and gave the U.S. undisputed control of Texas, established the U.S./Mexican border of the Rio Grande River, and ceded to the United States the present-day states of California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Wyoming. In return, Mexico received US $15,000,000, — less than half the amount the U.S. had attempted to offer Mexico for the land before the opening of hostilities!— and the U.S. agreed to assume $3.25 million in debts that the Mexican government owed to U.S. citizens!
That last comment seems to justify the deal as a fair one.
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