Absolut: Biography of a Bottle

by Carl Hamilton

This book is the “official story” of how Absolut Vodka came to be. Carl Hamilton found that publishing this book in Swedish would cost him his job at a prestigious economics institute. When he published an expanded version of a research project based on a research project commissioned by the liquor company, Vin and Spirit, he lost his job at the Stockholm School of Economics. His book credits Absolut’s huge popularity to the “little guys” rather than to the suits at large ad agencies. This book is the Liar’s Poker of marketing, revealing the sordid stories behind the official one.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Biography

312 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Charlie Fan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolut: Biography of a Bottle is like the secret diary of an advertising campaign mashed together with the memoirs of an assortment of colorful characters sprinkled with relevant bits of history and trivia for context. It is wild, filled with stories of betrayal and power struggles; it is human, the chronicles of an underdog against fierce resistance from inception to sale; and it is dramatic, the contrast between the willingness to compromise and the inability to compromise.

Hamilton does an admirable job filling in the details for the lay reader, bringing one up to speed on Sweden's liquor laws and the Monopoly, the various shifts in marketing philosophies, and the background of the agencies tasked to bring the project into fruition. And though one's natural incliation is to scorn the creative deceptiveness of a well constructed ad, the people behind the scenes are fleshed out just enough that we find ourselves rooting for their success.

There are some issues with the narration. The timeline gets a little muddy throughout; there was difficulty in determining the sequence of events for some scenes that could have benefitted with more hard dates (as anchors for flash backs and fast forwards). Additionally, the large cast of characters becomes unwieldy with some receiving a lot of attention (or made to seem pivotal) for minor roles. A one page reference of the major players either at the beginning or middle of the book would have helped.

Overall, I recommend this book and found it not just engrossing but enjoyable as well. While the book is ostensibly about a bottle, it is also a wonderful introduction to the less public side of advertising.

[Girish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolut Genius! Absolut Awesomeness :)

This no holds barred book takes you through the journey of a bottle through the mad jungle of ad world, red tapes of bureaucracy, naked ambitions of geniuses into the hall of fame. The writing is so smooth (much like the product itself i assume). Except towards the end when the narrative falters a bit, the book is so much fun to read.

Carl Hamilton must have started out writing a case study. He even gives you the typical B-School gyaan without you ever realizing it. The credit must go for bringing out the characters with their back stories making you wonder if the entire book was made up! But guess an unusual story requires unusual characters whom Hamilton does complete justice to.

It's a total joy ride of a book!

[Lauren Minors · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wildly entertaining and fascinating look at not just the birth of a brand, but the inner workings of the advertising industry in the late 70's. Fun yet illuminating read for anyone in marketing (or perhaps just a kid who was obsessed with these ads a bit too young).

[Peter L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!!! Mr. Hamilton originally wrote this book in his native Swedish (I believe)... Tells the story of the birth to the near present of how from a country that didn't even sell branded alcohols nor did it even have even one export product if I recall at the time in the alcoholic beverage product/brands category. If was even illegal to advertise alcoholic beverages in Sweden at the time, other than on the back of match boxes. To discover the real details, luck, and risks, challenges, and barriers leading to one of the biggest brands ever created from scratch will literally blow your mind with much inspiration. From choosing the medical style clear glass bottle with the creation of the silver-like medallion embossed into the product and how it became the number 1 brand of vodka in the World and perhaps the #1 overall alcohol brand in the World for a time (I think) from the broken down find of a 100 year old abandoned distillery with some limited amounts of potato vodka still evaporating in some old barrels to the inner workings of the hottest advertising agencies in New York City is a page turner you'll both love for its story but remember for its accomplishments and reason(s) for almost not ever being, let alone reason for being!

[Babette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found a reference to this book when I was looking up the book about Absolut's advertising campaign. This was a great read and an interesting look at the way in which a highly successful product is developed and marketed from an idea that most people thought was doomed.
Hamilton starts at the beginning - describing the governance of liquor production and sales in Sweden, the parties involved in marketing a product in the US, and the individuals in this story who were interesting characters in their own right.
I highly recommend this book.

[Chas Bayfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great. I love the crazy bureaucratic origins of the design and the first trip to the US where the team bring lots of imagery of Sweden and are told 'No-one knows where Sweden is - it could be Scotland or Switzerland'. It's a brilliant journey and one well told - a must for people in advertising and surely enjoyable for plenty of others too.

[Deepak Kapur · Rating 4 out of 5]

fantastic insights into one of the best marketing geniuses of 1980's. a colorless, odorless, tasteless liquid, from Sweden - how it competed head on with Smirnoff thanks to excellent advertising and THE BOTTLE

[Giju Abraham · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much about a bottle, interesting I must say.