• by Masha Geller , March 3, 2003

Known for its award-winning advertising campaigns the world over, famed Swedish spirits maker ABSOLUT broke from tradition yesterday by debuting its newest vodka flavor ABSOLUT VANILIA exclusively online. There is a catch: in order to meet this newest member of the vodka family – the first in four years –before everyone else, you need broadband and lots of it.

"ABSOLUT VANILIA is a different kind of vanilla -- and it deserves a different type of introduction," explains Eva Kempe-Forsberg, Vice President Marketing at The Absolut Company.

The revamped company website, which offers the sneak peak at Vanilia several weeks before the advertising campaign breaks and the product is delivered to consumers, is packed with bandwidth-guzzling online parties, short films and interactive features (even a “pick-up line generator”) -- inviting visitors to discover the product in ways that cannot be experienced in a store, in advertising or even in a bar. The homepage even adjusts the background to reflect the time of day when a web surfer arrives.

The site was designed by Stockholm-based creative agency Springtime to give ABSOLUT VANILIA special attention. "For the first time, ABSOLUT is using the Web as a leading channel for the launch of a new flavor. absolut.com will entice spirits connoisseurs and consumers with the distinct robust character of ABSOLUT VANILIA, bringing them into the world of ABSOLUT and allowing them to experience ABSOLUT VANILIA in their own way," says Kempe-Forsberg.

All that said, ABSOLUT is not forgetting its narrowband devotees. In mid-March, to help drive traffic and build awareness of both VANILIA and the new Absolut.com, the company will launch a $7 million campaign that includes print (Time, Vanity Fair and Esquire are in the media buy), outdoor and online ads created by the company’s long-time ad partner TBWA\Chiat\Day.