Absolut's Left-Wing Liquor

Primetime Politics ^ | April 9, 2008 | Michelle Malkin

[moderatewolverine]

Is it wise for a global beverage company to pander to radical politics while alienating a much wider consumer base?

Absolut, the Swedish-owned vodka maker, apparently drinks to that. Last week, my e-mailbox lit up with messages from readers and fellow bloggers about a new Absolut ad catering to Mexican drinkers who believe the American Southwest belongs to them. (That extreme ethno-supremacist idea, of course, is not news to anyone who has paid attention to the massive illegal alien marches of the past two years — where “This is our continent, not yours” has been a rallying mainstay.) As part of its “In an Absolut World” campaign in print magazines and on billboards, the company featured a large color photo of a redrawn map of the continental United States. The ad imposed pre-1848 borders on America, with Mexico swallowing up California, Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Arizona.

Here’s how Favio Ucedo, creative director of leading U.S. Latino advertising agency Grupo Gallegos, which was not involved in the Absolut campaign, explained the reconquista-endorsing ad to the Los Angeles Times: “Mexicans talk about how the Americans stole their land, so this is their way of reclaiming it. It’s very relevant and the Mexicans will love the idea.”

[nyyankeefan]

regardless of an apology or not....the politics of this left wing company should result in a boycott that will force firing of the executives/ad agencies/and diminished value of the company!!!!

let them sell their swill to mexico!!!

[backhoe]

It is only getting worse...

Absolut's New Campaign: Celebrate Homosexuality --Can you imagine Jack Daniels or Old Grand Dad ever advertising itself as "the preferred whiskey for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered consumers"?

[Liz]

FUTURE BRANDS BOARD ANNOUNCES EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT CHANGES
January 11, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Sarah Devaney
Beam Global Spirits & Wine
847-444-7661
Sarah.Devaney@beamglobal.com

Jeffrey Moran
The Absolut Spirits Co., Inc.
212-641-8720
Jeffrey.moran@absolut.com

Kelley McCormick
Qorvis Communications
202-683-3125
kmccormick@qorvis.com

FUTURE BRANDS BOARD ANNOUNCES EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT CHANGES
Future Brands Chairman of the Board Kevin Fennessey and Beam Global’s Bill Newlands Assume Greater Role in Management of the Company as Steve Bellini Plans to Step Down; Board Appoints CFO

Deerfield, Ill., – January 11, 2008 – Future Brands LLC, the U.S. sales and distribution services company for Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc. and the Absolut Spirits Company, Inc. (ASCI), announces upcoming changes to the Future Brands management team.

Future Brands president and CEO Steve Bellini will be leaving the company to pursue personal interests. Steve has agreed with the Future Brands Board to accept a transition role working with Kevin Fennessey until February 29th. The Board also announces the appointment of Robert Hill to the position of chief financial officer, replacing Barry O’Neil who left for a new opportunity.

Kevin Fennessey, chairman of the Future Brands Board, will take on a greater role in the management of the company working jointly with Bill Newlands, senior vice president of U.S. Commercial Development for Beam Global Spirits & Wine Inc. to oversee day-to-day operations. Fennessey will be fully supported by the Future Brands leadership team including CFO Robert Hill and by members of the Future Brands board. The company will be taking steps during this period to prepare for a CEO search.

“We want to thank Steve for his contributions to Future Brands over the past three years and we wish him all the best,” stated Kevin Fennessey, Chairman of the Future Brands Board. “We also want to welcome our new chief financial officer, Robert Hill. With several world-class brands in our stable such as Absolut® Vodka, Jim Beam® bourbon, Cruzan® Rum and Sauza® tequila, Future Brands is proud to drive the second highest spirits volume in the United States,” continued Fennessey. “These management changes invite new, exciting opportunities for the company’s future and mark another step in the evolution and elevation of Future Brands.”

Kevin Fennessey has 20-plus years experience in the spirits industry, having previously held executive positions at Pernod Ricard and Joseph E. Seagram & Sons. He has been president and CEO of ASCI since August 1, 2006. Fennessey was appointed Chairman of the Future Brands board in October 2007.

Bill Newlands, former president of Beam Wine Estates was also president and CEO of Allied Domecq Wines, North America. He has also served as president and CEO of Wine.com; president and CEO of the North American Still and Sparkling Wine Group of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy’s; and vice president of marketing at Ernest & Julio Gallo.
Robert Hill is a seasoned finance executive with significant senior leadership experience in both retail and food product environments. He is a hands-on and detail-oriented leader with experience at growth companies from several hundred million to over one billion dollars in annual sales.

Steve Bellini is a beverage alcohol industry veteran who began his career in 1972 as a sales representative for the General Wine and Spirits ... Company, a unit of the Joseph E. Seagram Corporation. At Joseph E. Seagram Corporation, he served as vice president of national development; led their control state business - and ultimately rose to the role of president, North America. Steve was appointed president and CEO of Future Brands in 2004.

###
About Future Brands LLC
Future Brands LLC is a sales and distribution services joint-venture established in 2001 that represents all U.S. spirits sales in the Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc. and The Absolut Spirits Company, Inc. portfolios, making it the number two spirits supplier in the U.S.

---

About The Absolut Spirits Company, Inc.
The Absolut Spirits Company, Inc., headquartered in New York, is a subsidiary of V&S Group and operates under the auspices of V&S Absolut Spirits in Stockholm, which produces and markets ABSOLUT® VODKA, ABSOLUT CUT™, Level ™ Vodka, FRIS® Vodka, Plymouth™ Gin and Cruzan® Rum.

The Absolut Spirits Company, Inc. imports ABSOLUT VODKA, Level Vodka, Plymouth Gin and Cruzan Rum in the US and distributes the brands through Future Brands LLC, a joint venture with Beam Global Spirits & Wine.

About Beam Global Spirits & Wine

Inspiring conversations around the world, Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc., is building brands people want to talk about. Consumers from all corners of the globe call for our brands, including Jim Beam® Bourbon, Sauza® Tequila, Canadian Club® Whisky, Courvoisier® Cognac, Maker’s Mark® Bourbon, Laphroaig® Scotch Whisky, Larios® Gin, Whisky DYC®, Teacher’s® Scotch Whisky, DeKuyper® Cordials and Liqueurs, Knob Creek® Bourbon and Starbucks™ Liqueurs. Beam Global Spirits & Wine is part of Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE:FO), a leading consumer brands company with annual sales exceeding $8 billion. For more information on Beam Global Spirits & Wine, its brands, and its commitment to social responsibility, please visit www.beamglobal.com and www.drinksmart.com.

[xcamel]

About 2 weeks late on this one...

[pnh102]

Absolut crap!

[Rocky]

Stoke that fire. Don’t want the flames to go out.

[Liz]

John McCain's "Hispanic Outreach Director" is Juan Hernandez. McCain said he chose Hernandez because he AGREES with his positions.

Juan Hernandez was born in Dallas and decided as an adult to become a dual-national Mexican citizen. Juan Hernandez's last verifiable job was serving in Mexican President Vicente Fox's cabinet as Fox's "American Reconquista Director." Hernandez then worked for Bush hater George Soros' international foundations---(one such foundation published Hernendez's book that taunts Americans).

According to John McCain's "Hispanic Outreach Director: all illegal Mexicans and Mexican-Americans in the USA should become dual citizens and consider themselves Mexicans first, "to the 8th generation." The "New American Pioneers" proclaimed in Hernandez' book are the illegal alien invaders he urges to become settlers in the USA for "Reconquista"---the plan to take back the SW.

[captjanaway]

I’ll stick with Jack Daniels - still made in Tennessee and still proud of it :)

[17th Miss Regt]

Mexican-Americans in the USA should become dual citizens and consider themselves Mexicans first, "to the 8th generation."

Fine, Juan, we will deny all such people security clearances of any kind and not allow them to serve in any positions of public trust. After all, we don't know where their sympathies lie.

[Joe Boucher]

Ya think Sweden might get fired up if say G.M. showed on its map that Sweden was really just a part of Finland or Russia?

[deuteronlmy232]

I do not drink, but I do make gallons of herbal tintures each year. To make an herbal tinture one uses dried herbs and vodka or gin. Gallons and gallons of vodka or gin. Absolut has lost my business, never again will I use Absolut. I will assure you if an illegal or a homosexual is drinking the amount of Absolut each year that I use in my timtures, he will be dead within months. This is one big sale for Absolut to loose.

[Wpin]

Here is the link to Absolute...after registration they do have forums. I chose the “Drinks” forum to spew a little free speech their way; http://absolutdrinks.com/

The thread I created is called “Stupid Swedes”

Have fun all!

[Dr. Scarpetta]

Whe I go out for dinner, I always asked for Absolut Citron in my Cosmo. I’ll be asking for Ketel One vodka now.

[laotzu]

[Dusty Road]

This ad is much better.

[LiveFreeOrDie2001]

I will not buy one single bottle from them - ever !!

Thank God the last vodka I bought is SKYY - made in America.

[snoringbear]

“Is it wise for a global beverage company to pander to radical politics while alienating a much wider consumer base?”

Well, guess the answer to the above question will be reflected very soon in their revenue numbers. I do know that from now on I will purchase my wife's vanilla flavored vodka from another source...

[Liz]

Mexicans in the USA who with dual loyalty who consider themselves Mexicans first will be denied security clearances of any kind and not be allowed to serve in any positions of public trust. After all, we don't know where their sympathies lie.....

Let's go one step futher----any person who retains loyalty to a foreign country should be declared "persona non grata" and expelled. If they still insist on squatting on US lands---they should be declared enemies of state and tried for crimes against the state.

[longtermmemmory]

Absolute boycott.

I have already had the item removed from one groups local bar list.