Creative: Campaigns - The Birthday Party

Annie Leibovitz Portraits Mark 20 Years of Absolut Jerry Lewis, looking both defeated and defiant, sits with a glass stuffed weirdly in his mouth and the bottle from the "Absolut Vegas" ad tacked to his lapel. Salman Rushdie brandishes a burning copy of "Absolut Original." South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone stand side by side in the buff, covering themselves with different-sized copies of "Absolut Centerfold." Self-reference is a big part of these new Annie Leibovitz portraits, created as Absolut's birthday gift to itself and to the consumers who have made its 20-year ad campaign a success. There are 20 photos in all, and each reveals the favorite Absolut ad of its celebrity subject by weaving both the ad--or part of it--and its theme into the composition. There's an element of self-congratulation, but as the company's ad agency, TBWA\Chiat\Day, points out, who has earned it more than Absolut? "You don't do this kind of thing during Year One of an ad campaign," says chief creative officer David Page. "This is about the confidence of a brand that has established itself through print for so long." The portraits, which were unveiled at Absolut's 20th anniversary exhibition in New York this month, are bound as a 24-page insert in the July issue of Vanity Fair, and will run individually in various magazines for the next six months. The budget for the project was not disclosed. "Everyone has their favorite Absolut ad--from the Pope to Nancy Reagan," says Joseph Mazzaferro, art director at TBWA\C\D. Those two, alas, didn't make the list, but it's a distinguished one nonetheless, featuring such divergent talents as Mark Morris, Philip Glass, Julian Schnabel and Sarah Jessica Parker. "We started out with 250-300 names," Mazzaferro says. "Politicians, authors, artists, dancers, actors, musicians--people who have caused some kind of stir over the last 20 years." Leibovitz and Absolut parent Seagram's led the intensive process of narrowing it down to 20 while trying to retain the diversity of the original list. The resulting shoots--held here and abroad, in homes, studios, even a construction lot--were productive and eventful. "For many of the people, we had backup options," Mazzaferro says. "The South Park guys were originally supposed to appear in the women's ballroom gowns they wore to the Oscars, but they ended up naked." Many of the subjects had their own ideas about how the pictures should turn out. Helmut Newton, posing for an "Absolut Spy" interpretation, tried to advise Leibovitz on how to properly light a mannequin--but was quickly rebuffed. Jerry Lewis, whose shoot involved a number of Vegas showgirls, confounded things by pulling out the glass-in-the-mouth trick--an improvisation that Leibovitz at first thought particularly unfunny. As Mazzaferro remembers, "He took the glass out of his mouth and said, 'You do the photos. I do the funny.' " A bit of dot-com craziness colored the Philippe Starck and Ian Schrager shoot. The hotel design duo was photographed at a construction site on the far West Side of Manhattan, but permit problems brought the NYPD to the scene. The resulting confusion--a "Fellini pandemonium," according to Mazzaferro--was captured by a German film crew that had been following Starck for weeks and sending a continuous live feed back home to an avant-garde Web site project. But given the results, the months-long ordeal was worth it, says Page. "It's a great thing to come across in a magazine," he says. "It just goes on and on." Adds Mazzaferro: "It's a gift for everyone who's loved the campaign over the years, and a thank you for letting it continue so long." K Absolut Agency: TBWA\Chiat\Day, New York Chief Creative Officer: David Page Art Director: Joseph Mazzaferr Copywriter: David Corr Photographer: Annie Leibovit

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Creative: Campaigns - The Birthday Party

Tim Nudd

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Tim Nudd