With an iconic status established in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, Absolut Vodka is a much-loved brand amongst GenX-ers worldwide.

But amongst younger Millennials and GenZ in the US, Absolut is just another vodka on the supermarket shelf, surrounded by arguably more interesting and exotic alternatives.

 We needed to get American GenZ to take notice of Absolut, whilst driving relevance amongst this increasingly woke, socially-media savvy generation of surprisingly responsible drinkers; who are consuming less alcohol than the generations that preceded them.

Absolut honed in on an emotive social cause amongst American GenZ: sexual consent. Making love, when consensual is a beautiful thing.

But sex has an ugly side. Especially when one party has not willingly engaged in the act. And there’s also the complicating role alcohol plays in clouding people’s judgement before they engage in sexual intercourse. 

(1 in 6 American women have been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime - RAINN) 

Absolut, with a brave heritage in openly talking about uncomfortable topics decided to tackle this prickly issue head on. By taking responsibility in the role alcohol plays in the grey area of consent.

The brand wanted all would-be lovers across America to talk about consent before engaging in the act - all whilst keeping the spark alive.

So, they dived into the minds of potential lovers to reveal all of the vivid cues that, as the night goes on, create the mistaken belief that “my date wants to sleep with me”.

They needed to know that none of these cues actually made it a “yes”:

A sexy dress… is not a yes

Buying them another drink… is not a yes

Making out in the cab… not a yes

Netflix and chill… all good fun, but still not a yes.

Thus the campaign line, Drink Responsibly. Sex Responsibly’ was born.

With the backing of victim support group RAINN, Absolut launched on the sexiest day of the year: Valentine’s Day.

The message was made loud and clear across social, print and OOH, including a massive presence on Times Square and a double-page spread in the New York Times.

With 89M online impressions and a total reach of 46M across US cities, Absolut made sure the message was received emphatically by America’s urban youth.

Aside from numerous media mentions, the campaign got people talking about consent. In total, it spurned 31k conversations in social media alone - deepening the impact of our message through vivid personal stories of past experience.

Some of these included heartfelt posts from prominent figures like Olivia Wilde and Lizzo.