Time-Warner: Vodka Ad Campaign Reconquers California for Mexico

April 4, 2008 | Filed Under Budget, Business, Democrats/Leftists, Media Bias, News, Publius Contributor, Society/Culture, Warner Todd Huston |

-By Warner Todd Huston

Taking the Reconquista concept all the way to the end, Absolut Vodka launched an ad campaign that appears on billboards and at least one magazine that features a map of the western U.S. and Mexico with nearly the entire west coast appearing as a part of Mexico. This ad appears in Quien Magazine, which is owned by Time Warner and also appears on billboards in Mexico. Quien claims a “total audience” of 513,000 readers in Mexico and the southwestern U.S.

The map covers what used to be Mexico’s claimed borders before our 1846 war with them from which the U.S. took possession of California, Texas, New Mexico, etc. But, the ad shows those states as part of Mexico with the “Estados Unidos De America” situated to the north and east of the “Absolut World” Mexico.

In a day when immigration issues are incendiary between our two countries, Time Warner accepting ads that stirs Mexico’s sentiments to “take back” parts of the U.S. (as the term Reconquista means) as their own territory is quite extraordinary.

One would think that such a hot button issue would have raised a few eyebrows with Time Warner? Even worse, this ad never raised a fuss with anyone even as ads for other products were pulled because of “offending” people.

Last year, a Snickers ad was pulled from airing on TV when gay activist groups complained that the ad, which showed two men eating a snickers and accidentally locking lips, was “offensive” to gays. A GoDaddy ad was pulled in 2005 for sexual content. A pro-life ad was even pulled in Ontario this year because the pro-life message was somehow “offensive.”

Yet, an ad showing the west coast re-conqured by Mexico doesn’t raise a peep?

Michelle Malkin has a page on this, so does Hot Air, Snappedshot.com and Gateway Pundit among others.

If you’d like to voice your concern to the importer of the alcohol, try V&S Group.

They can be reached at the follow email addresses:

Claes Åkesson, VP Corporate Responsibility - claes.akesson@vsgroup.com

Sofia Leffler Moberg, Manager Corporate Responsibility - sofia.leffler.moberg@vsgroup.com

Jacob Broberg, Senior Vice President V&S Corporate Affairs & Communications - jacob.broberg@vsgroup.com

Bengt Barron, CEO - bengt.barron@vsgroup.com

Contact information for Absolut:

Jeffrey Moran
Director of Public Relations and Events
The Absolut Spirits Company, Inc.
1370 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10019
USA
Phone, direct: +1 212 641 87 20

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Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer, has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and is featured on many websites such as newsbusters.org, townhall.com, New Media Journal, Men’s News Daily and the New Media Alliance among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a frequent guest on talk-radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events. He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of publiusforum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston