Article: Americans cry 'racism' over Absolut poster; Outrage over Mexican ad shows risky new side of globalism to marketers.(News)

Byline: LAUREL WENTZ

In a nightmare scenario for Absolut vodka and global agency TBWA, a print ad that ran only in Mexico was picked up by American bloggers, entered the blog-fed news cycle and inflamed U.S. anti-immigration factions, detonating racist comments and calls for a boycott of Absolut.

The ad, by TBWA Teran in Mexico City, was a local execution of the international "In an Absolut World'' campaign that depicts an ideal world. In this case, a map showed much of the U.S. Southwest as part of Mexico, as it once was.

The furor reflects a growing challenge for international marketers and their agencies: how to vet local creative work that ...

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!