Giving artists a blank canvas is nothing new to Absolut as reflected in past initiatives such as last year’s short film I’m Here, an offbeat story of robotic love directed by Spike Jonze of MJZ. Now Absolut is leveraging its iconic bottle shape to serve as a catalyst for creativity via the “Absolut Blank” campaign out of TBWAChiatDay, New York.
This time Absolut has engaged 20 artists worldwide–representing creative disciplines ranging from drawing to painting, sculpture, filmmaking and digital art–to fill the bottle, designing it with their creations.
Among the artworks are UVA’s high intensity, bright and striking light installations, Mario Wagner’s attention-grabbing collage imagery, the colorful and playful graphic design of Aesthetic Apparatus, the bold paintings of Kinsey, and the detailed mural work of Good Wives and Warriors.
The other contributing artists who each have their individual takes on the art of the Absolut bottle are Thomas Doyle, David Bray, Eduardo Recife, Jeremy Fish, Brett Amory, Morning Breath, Sam Flores, Robert Mars, Fernando Chamirelli, Zac Freeman, Will Barras, Marcus Jansan, Ludovica Gioscia, Alex Trochut and Adhemas Batista.
A taste of this artistry meets the bottle is captured in a spot titled “Absolut Blank” directed by Floria Sigismondi of Believe Media.
The overall campaign is being launched in several countries and first went live in the U.K. last week, supported by this TV commercial, print, out of home, digital and experiential.
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More