Absolut Vodka Puts Its Brand Behind Struggling LGBTQ+ Bars

Absolut Vodka’s new campaign is primarily intended to reach LGBTQ+ consumers ahead of June’s Pride month. But that’s just a small part of a larger, ongoing effort that looks back as well as forward at Absolut’s long association with the culture and concerns of that population right now. While Disney is caught up in local battles with Florida’s state government over the putative “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, Absolut’s new “Out & Open” campaign wants to address a much less hot button matter: the plight of LGBTQ+ bars and restaurants. For Pam Forbus, SVP and CMO at Absolut parent company Pernod Ricard North America, connecting with LGBTQ+ and businesses is something the Swedish-born vodka has done since shortly after it launched in New York City in 1979. “We’re thrilled to continue our support with ‘Out & Open,’ an ongoing initiative core to the brand for the foreseeable future that celebrates and elevates the pivotal role that LGBTQ bars and restaurants play in the lives of the LGBTQ community,” Forbus told Adweek. The ads, which mix audio and visuals, are starting to run on paid social on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and star Saturday Night Live comedian and actor Bowen Yang. The posts sport colorful visuals and feature portraits of Bowen, as well as members of the community sharing their personal experiences and memories about LGBTQ+ bars. The overarching message highlights just how important these spaces are to people’s lives and identities. Last call for LGBTQ+ bars? The message also comes with a degree of worry about the staggering rate of LGBTQ+ bar and restaurant shutterings. According to Absolut—15.2% closed between 2019 and Spring 2021—and it provides resources to business owners to help these establishments thrive. “After being on the shelves of these spaces for four decades, we understand how critical they are—and that they are much more than just spaces to enjoy a cocktail,” Forbus told Adweek. Whether it’s providing a sense of belonging and acceptance, hosting activism events and fundraisers, providing resources or networking or “just a place to be yourself,” LGBTQ+ bars are community-building, cultural forces, Forbus noted. “As such, we’re doing our part to preserve and protect the future of them, by partnering with the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce to make its succession planning more accessible to LGBTQ business owners through a series of in-person and virtual trainings, now through the fall of 2022,” Forbus said. Headlines from major cities across the country offer additional evidence of how acute the crisis LGBTQ+ eating and drinking establishments continue to experience, even as bars and general begin to recover what was lost. Just in April, an LGBTQ+ bar in Bushwick, Brooklyn was the victim of arson; an upscale Gay bar in Denver made its last call after just three months of operation; an entire block that’s home to a Queer-friendly bars in Austin, Texas is facing demolition; and a popular diner that’s at the center of Portland, Oregon’s “Pink Triangle District” quit after a series of reopenings that didn’t stick. Last year, the New York Times asked, “How can there only be three Lesbian bars in NYC?” Absolut rescue Championing bars and restaurants might seem obvious and self-serving for a marketer like Absolut. But the brands have hardly been suffering along with the dining industry. Pernod Ricard, in its quarterly earnings last week, showed sales staying strong. The French holding company’s drinks group posted a sales gain of 20% in Q4 to $2.59 billion, thanks mostly to American purchases. As Adweek reported in January, Pernod Ricard more than doubled its U.S. ad spending in 2020 compared to 2019. The company maintained similar levels throughout 2021. About 75% of that media spend is devoted to digital channels. Therefore, with the brand in great shape, the ability to shore up one of its main avenues of distribution makes sense from a business perspective. Forbus also stressed that the support for LGBTQ+ causes is part of a continuum within Absolut’s brand heritage. “Out & Open is a continuation of Absolut’s 40-plus year support and allyship to the LGBTQ community,” Forbus said. “Since the early 1980s, we’ve been proud to fearlessly celebrate diversity, acceptance and equality.” Absolut history Forbus touted Absolut’s landmark advertising to the community. For example, in 1981, Absolut was the first brand to take out a full-page advertisement in a Queer magazine, she said. Nearly 15 years ago Absolut introduced its Rainbow Bottle, which features the iconic Gilbert Baker rainbow, a design that remains available year-round. Over the course of those four decades, Absolut’s partnered with organizations nationally such as GLAAD, God’s Love We Deliver, OUTFest, OUTServe, International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), among others, donating “more than $40 million to various projects and causes that serve the LGBTQ+ community,” Forbus said. Absolut's Out & Open highlights just how important these bars and restaurants are to people’s lives and identities. Beyond primetime The decision to partner with a rising SNL star goes beyond any on-screen persona or recognizable name as a brand representative for Absolut, Forbus said. “As an actor and comedian, Bowen Yang is a natural storyteller whose voice resonates with the LGBTQ community as a proud member of the community himself,” she said. “Not only is his positive and uplifting tone a perfect fit for ‘Out & Open’ and the spaces it serves to protect, but also his willingness to share his personal experience with others.” She cited his belief, as stated in Bowen’s “Absolut Love Letter” to places catering to LGBTQ+ people, that these locations hold the past, present and future of the community as the reason Absolut gravitated towards him as a partner for “Out & Open.” A Jägermeister-Sponsored Documentary Toasts the Last Remaining Lesbian Bars in the US For every “listen” via social engagements to an “Out & Open” story, Absolut will increase its $175,000 donation to the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce by an additional $1 to fund succession planning education and training. “While Bowen is currently onboard to help us introduce this campaign, we very much value his collaboration and perspective,” Forbus said, “and will continue to assess the right partners for ‘Out & Open’ as it evolves.”