In An Absolut World, What Happens In One Country Doesn't Stay There..

Check out this latest controversy that has happened because of vodka ad made exclusively for Mexican audience. The marketing department of Absolut Vodka prepared an ad which shows the pre 1848 North America with states like California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico shown in Mexican border. The attempt was pretty benign...a simple what if scenario...In an Absolut World( this is the punchline the company uses to communicate a dream world which you would find yourself in once you have had Absolut Vodka), Mexicans could again have the states they lost to US in 1848 war.

Now the problem came to the fore because these days, what happens in any part of the world doesn't stay there. What also inflamed the whole situation is the resentment which a lot of Americans feel with 12 million illegal immigrants from Mexico that live in parts of southwest as well as New York & New Jersey. Now it is accepted that Hispanic population has filled an important gap in the workforce especially in jobs that Americans do not want to do. Good examples of such industries are agriculture, meat packing, construction etc.

Prominent commentators like Samuel Huntington have talked about the way demography of certain states has been altered forever. It is now estimated that Hispanics form the majority of the population in at least 4 states. Besides demography, since Hispanics are almost all Catholics, it is also affecting the predominantly Protestant fabric of America. Hispanics today have become the dominant minority leaving Blacks behind. So many people already believe that this has in some way reverted the gains of the 1848 war back to Mexico, albeit, in a more nuanced way. This ad brought that feeling to the top.

It is to be seen what impact this would have on the sales of Absolut Vodka in the US but there are enough people on the right to make a substantial difference.