Hello everyone. First off I want to take a moment and plug 2 events that Join The Impact Chicago is hosting tonight. The first one is an information session about the march on Washington from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday night at the Rogers Park Public Library branch, 6907 N. Clark St., called "National Equality March: What it is and Why You Should Go." The International Socialist Organization is co-sponsoring the session.
After the information session Thursday night, join JTIC at The Glenwood, a bar at 6962 N. Glenwood Ave., for the "Fashion for Equality" fundraiser. Their will be raffles and the bar's TVs will be tuned into "Project Runway". This event will be going on from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.
So since the fundraiser tonight is going to be at a bar, I decided to write about a company that is doing something to show that they support our efforts to make a difference and fight for equality for all. This company is Absolut Vodka, and they're putting their marketing campaign where their mouth is, by creating a labelless bottle. The point? To plug equality by saying that no matter what's on the outside of the package, it's what's on the inside that matters. And that kind of relates to people, too.
Absolut has been at the forefront of LGBT advertising for years, winning plenty of awards from organizations like the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) along the way. But this campaign takes on the power of language and words to label, and how those labels create trouble when it comes to discrimination, prejudice and fear-mongering.
"For the first time we dare to face the world completely naked. We launch a bottle with no label and no logo, to manifest the idea that no matter what’s on the outside, it’s the inside that really matters. We do it in support of the people who spend their entire lives, stamped with labels by other people," said Absolut PR Manager Kristina Hagbard.
Even sleeker than a bottle with no label? Absolut has launched a blog to talk about the no label campaign, rife with information (and a heaping dose of sarcastic snark) directed toward prejudice within and toward the LGBT community.
Companies market to us LGBT folks all of the time. But companies rarely immerse their product in the thick of the LGBT world to make a broader point about equality. This is one advertising campaign whose central message is one everyone can buy into, whether they drink alcohol or not: In an absolute world, there are no labels.
No comments:
Post a Comment