The ad shows a historical map of the Mexico before Texas’ Independence and the Mexico-US War of 1846-48 had occurred. The offending map showed when the American Southwest – Texas, California, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, and part of Wyoming – as we know it, belonged to Mexico. It was not until the signing of “Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo” that not only ended the war, but also defined our present-day borders.

The ad was created by TBWA’s Mexican advertising firm Teran/TBWA. A year ago, Absolut vodka’s embarked in a new campaign strategy, breaking away from the old bottle series. The new Absolut World campaign invites the consumers to imagine their idea of a perfect world; a world that possibly wouldn’t take place but only “in an Absolut World.” The ad was solely geared toward the Mexican market.

According to Roger Dooley, Founder/President of Dooley Direct and author of the Neuromarketing blog, Absolut’s new campaign message is hoping to convey that “Absolut vodka is the closest thing to perfection one can find in this world.” In other words, since the ad was solely geared toward the Mexican market, “unspoken message” was although Mexico will never regain their lost territories, “but you CAN appreciate the perfection of Absolut;” hence the “In an Absolut World” slogan across the map.

As to whether the ad campaign worked in Mexico is still unknown. What is known, the “unspoken message” was not received well here in the United States. Whether the controversy began with Laura Martinez’s blog post honoring the death of her mother or Los Angles Times writing an article about the ad, the end result is the same – wingnuttia falling off it’s hinges.

This all began when conservative columnist Michelle Malkin decided to use the ad to whip up anti-Mexican sentiment by dubbing the ad “Absolut Reconquista.” Soon after, the US media outlets noticed the ad. The outrage by the nativist over this ad has caused inspired an anti-immigrantion, FIRE Coalition, to start anti-Absolut website called AbsolutlyNot.com.

The group also created a new web ad depicting an “Absolut World” as today’s borders with a giant fence between the US and Mexico. The nativist group is also asking people to boycott Absolut Vodka and is demanded that person who approved an ad be fired.

All this has caused Absolut to withdraw the ad and make an apology on its consumer hotline and website after it evoked a barrage of paranoia, racist and xenophobic complaints.

In no way was the ad meant to offend or disparage, or advocate an altering of borders, lend support to any anti-American sentiment, or to reflect immigration issues. – Paula Eriksson, VP Corporate Communications, V&S Absolut Spirits

However, one does have to wonder, knowing the tension between the two countries regarding the immigration issue, one does have to wonder why TBWA would create this ad. Was it simply a case of bad judgment as Evelyn Schlatter of High Country News suggested? Or does this go beyond the immigration issue and the outrage that is taking place is merely faux outrage as Randy LoBasso suggests.

One thing is for sure, in the world of today’s economic and political systems, we are continually bombarded with advertising. Every waking moment, some company is trying to persuade us to by their product. Absolut Vodka is no different. Absolut prides themselves for being edgy, for being able to make “the evening news” so it can get “thousands of articles and countless sound bites of free exposure on TV.”

Did this marketing ploy really come with a price? According to Michael Dawson, author of The Consumer Trap, marketing plays a central role in our lives. It shapes the choices we make, our thoughts, feelings, and even our culture. Marketing specialists are very frank about their purpose: to generate profit by manipulating people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Corporate marketing is a trillion dollar juggernaut run by the power elite with the sole purpose to marginalize us into action. Even if we believe we an can be immune to such manipulation, we are not. Advertisers have spent billions of dollars developing and testing ways to influence us.

Whether the advertising company or Absolut Vodka expected this kind of reaction from wingnuttia, will never be known. But one this is for certain, sadly, even the nativists have a say in Mexico’s “Absolut World.” As the former Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz said a century ago: “Poor Mexico, so far from God and so close to the United States!”