Keith Haring: reigniting his legacy for a new generation
Absolut Vodka is celebrating the legacy of Keith Haring, one of the world’s most influential pop artists, with the launch of the Absolut Haring Artist-Edition bottle nearly four decades after he first painted the apothecary-shaped bottle.
We caught up with Ylva Lundberg, Global Marketing Manager Communications, at the launch event held at the Tayêr + Elementary in London, to tell us more about the bottle and the accompanying campaign.
Why launch a Haring artist edition bottle, and why now?
Absolut has a long-standing connection to the art world and last year, we had a highly successful campaign featuring Warhol, sparked by the rediscovery of the Absolut Warhol ‘blue’ painting. In 1986, Haring became the second artist we commissioned to paint our bottle [after Warhol had painted the first]. We wanted to share this legacy with a new generation by launching the very first artist edition bottle inspired by Keith Haring’s original Absolut Vodka painting. Creating a campaign and product that celebrates Haring and Absolut’s shared belief that “art is for everybody”, aiming to make a significant cultural impact today, just as Haring did during his heyday.
The campaign has a very modern, creative and energetic feel.
How is the Haring campaign different to Warhol’s?
We saw with Warhol’s campaign last year how art and culture have the potential to engage Gen Z and Millennials. Haring’s values have always resonated in youth culture, yet today he remains a cultural symbol of unity and equality. This allowed us to be very forward-thinking when developing the creative and so, the campaign has a very modern, creative and energetic feel – I’d say even more so than the one we shot for Warhol. You can see this in the execution of the campaign’s assets, such as the styling, talent, and the vibrant colours mixed with black and white, paired with Haring’s iconic dancing figures. This execution was perceived as unique in our feedback, while it proved to be highly appealing to 18- to 35-year-old consumers, a key target market of ours.
Why do you think Haring’s art remains relevant to this day?
As a sideline to my work, I have worked as a techno DJ in the underground music scene. For me, music has connected me to people I otherwise would never have met and provided me with countless unbeatable experiences. I believe that art also has the potential to unite people from very different backgrounds by inviting them to share an experience. Haring’s art is super simple but powerful, and touches on important themes that are relevant today. This idea comes through in the short film. It’s a cool narrative, with the subway serving as a place where diverse individuals come together and connect through Haring’s artistic world.
Why do Haring’s values resonate with Absolut?
Art has the potential to be something everyone can enjoy, but it can also be used to make a difference. Absolut has always been a voice for creativity. Our long-standing history of collaboration with artists continues to give us the perfect platform to drive social change.
Haring’s art is super simple but powerful, and touches on important themes that are relevant today.
Was there any particular method you used to design the bottle?
We sketched and tested many different designs to bring Haring’s Absolut painting to life. Even though Haring’s art appears simple and doesn’t have lots of different colours or elements. We wanted to elevate the quality of the bottle, which led to embossing the vibrant dancing figures into the glass silhouette and using Haring’s hand-drawn take on the Absolut medallion, featuring founder L.O. Smith – adding a personal touch from the artist himself. And as always for our artist editions, we want to delight consumers with a design that has a very high level of detail – even the QR code on the label on the back has a Haring figure hidden inside it. Our ambition is to create a bottle that becomes an accessible piece of art that people can take home.
Can you tell me about the activations of the campaign?
The artist edition has been available exclusively in global duty-free free since 1 June. The activation has included 3D out-of-home billboards at several major airports and a pop-up vending machine at Gatwick Airport with exclusive Absolut Haring merch alongside bottle purchases. We have also teamed up with Uber for an Add-to-Wallet campaign, giving passengers an exclusive gift voucher while en route to the airport that can be used to redeem a poster with their bottle purchase. In September, we are launching in the UK with a cheeky takeover, bringing art into the London underground. Then in October, we launch in 40+ domestic markets – including Germany, China, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Italy, Taiwan and Sweden, to name a few.
Haring’s values have always resonated in youth culture.
The signature cocktail is the Asian-influenced Haring Absolut Haring Fizz. What is your ‘go-to’ cocktail?
It would have to be a vodka sour made with a simple syrup and egg white. I love it particularly during the Swedish summer, picking fresh cherries and drinking them with a fermented cherry syrup!
