Absolut is one of the largest brands of spirits in the world (after Smirnoff and Bacardi) and is sold in 126 countries.
Smith offered free boat rides to the distillery and Rent Brännvin ("Pure Vodka") was highly successful.
Renat is the name of another vodka product sold by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.
[citation needed] Lars Olsson Smith was born in 1836 in Kiaby and died in 1913 in Karlskrona, Sweden.
[6][7] The first of these ads, typical of the rest, was introduced in 1981 and featured a picture of the bottle with a halo over the cap above the slogan "Absolut Perfection".
[9] In 1983, Carillon's president and CEO Michel Roux approached the artist Andy Warhol, whom he paid $65,000 to create an advertisement for Absolut.
[11] During the 2017 Corporate Art Awards Ceremony hosted by the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace,[12] Absolut received by pptArt a special award "for their long-running collaboration with 550 artists on 850 projects to shape their corporate image and brand".
[13] The talents included such names as Damien Hirst, Rosemarie Trockel, Helmut Newton, Javier Mariscal, Maurizio Cattelan, Louise Bourgeois, Alain Despert, and many, many more.
In 2005, Absolut invited American singer Lenny Kravitz to participate in its promotional campaign.
Media outlets reported on some American consumers' reactions at the advert's perceived insensitivity to immigration issues.
[20][21][22] Absolut responded that the adverts were purely whimsical, with no political or nationalist agenda, but its critics were adamant.
After pausing its production in Russia due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Pernod Ricard resumed the export of Absolut Vodka in April 2023, leading to widespread criticism in Sweden.