BBH London & String and Tins: Absolut is searching for artists

Glaring grammatical boo-boo aside (1980s, 1990s etc do not need an apostrophe. ’80s & ’90s do.), BBH London and Absolut have come up with a wonderfully unique campaign idea in a genre not always marked by individuality.

It’s a global creative competition to create the next great Absolut poster. Since 1985, the brand has worked with more than 550 of the world’s top artists, such as Keith Haring, Arman Armand, Romero Britto and Maurizio Cattelan, resulting in over 800 art pieces. Now it is encouraging creatives from all over the world to create expressions that bring to life what one of the drink’s brand beliefs mean to them. The beliefs are centered on creating a more open, equal and inclusive world and make up the creative platform, Create a Better Tomorrow, Tonight.

The competition will run in 20 countries and entries will be judged by a global jury of leading creative voices. Artworks may be submitted through the competition’s web page until 31 January 2019. The site also features the posters of the past, with descriptions of each artist and poster. The competition winner will have his or her work spread via Absolut’s social media and digital channels and displayed on a famous billboard such as Piccadilly Circus or Times Square, receive a cash prize of €20,000 (AU$31,424) and be invited to the global announcement event in May 2019.

BBH worked with director, Oscar Hudson, and UK sound and music company, String and Tins, to create the film promoting the competition. String and Tins worked on both the sound and the music. The music was used to craft the film’s narrative by capturing the genre of each decade.

Joe Wilkinson, sound designer at String and Tins commented, “We did a series of genre tests to create the initial soundscape. We settled on the combination of New Romantic, Hip Hop, Indie and Future Bass for each era chronologically which you can hear in the film. We then developed the four compositions in tandem, using similar chord structures and melodies to give a subtle sense of unity. In addition to that, we experiment with diegetic vs non-diegetic treatment in the mix to balance the overall momentum of the piece against the realism.”

Sina Neubrandt, senior global marketing manager at Absolut, commented, “Creativity can spark conversation and drive change. This is why Absolut’s latest campaign celebrates the power that creativity has for making a real difference in the world. We’re excited to see the entries and celebrate the winner in May.”