For years, The Absolut Co. has launched a limited edition, under the Christmas tree-worthy vodka bottle for the winter holiday season. The most recent design, for 2015, in metallic blue and silver versions was specifically created to add energy and beauty to any winter holiday or other “house” party. Part of the company’s Absolut Nights campaign—a global platform to transform the night through creativity—the shiny, reflective Absolut Electrik bottle was inspired by the minimal and repetitive nature of electronic music.
Explains Mattias Lindstedt, Creative Director for The Brand Union Stockholm, the firm that worked with Absolut on the design of the bottle, “Our goal with Absolut Electrik was to continue creating contemporary design, relevant to the nightlife party crowd, just like Absolut has done since its breakthrough in the 80s. Back then it was with the art crowd and Studio 54. Today the disco is replaced by house and electronic music. But of course we wanted to attract all the non-house fans out there as well, the ones who just want beautiful bottles or gifts for all the holiday home (house) parties. That’s why we created a visually striking bottle, that on the one hand is as easy to love as a Christmas tree decoration, and on the other, has all the right contemporary and minimal attributes to fit perfectly into any house/electronic music context.”
Absolut Electrik uses the iconic Absolut glass bottle from Ardagh Group, decorated by Dekorglass in a coating process that uses a mirror metallic ink in blue or silver. After coating, the bottle is covered with a layer of lacquer for protection throughout the supply chain.
As Eric Näf, Director Packaging Development for The Absolut Co., explains, the biggest challenge in the decoration of the bottle was “to strike the exact right level of transparency in order to give the bottle the intended shine.” He adds, “One thing that proved to be vital during production was to keep the glass surface completely clean and free from any dust or particles, since the high-glass finish is very revealing.”
Lindstedt describes the resulting effects: “The repetitive beat of house music is represented by the bottles’ reflectiveness. The semi-transparent mirror coating reflects surrounding light back and forth, creating an Electrik effect. Also, when placed in a group, the bottles reflect each other repeatedly, resulting in the illusion of a crowd much larger than the actual number of bottles.”
As for graphics, they were reduced to a minimum to maximize the effect of the special mirror coating. “The design, like electronic music, focuses on one strong beat and repeats or reflects it, over and over again,” says Lindstedt.
Absolut Electrik made its debut at Absolut’s Electrik House futuristic house party in October 2015 in Los Angeles.
