Entry 9:

Well, OK, Doug, I may have driven us into the mud. In the spirit of the piece, let's abandon the rig and get on to something else quick! Before someone notices.

But let's not also abandon the Absolut bottle. There is a great quote from adman Rosser Reeves. I'm not getting it exactly right, but he's out on a boat with a client. And the client is complaining. Why is he paying Reeves a 15 percent commission when Reeves' agency is just running the same ad over and over? The client says, "What the hell am I paying your people to do?" And Reeves says without missing a beat, "To keep your people from changing the ad."

Agencies think they must change things. After all, they are creative. So let's create, they say. Let's show the client we are clever. But most ad agencies are not very good at what they do. They are clever, not smart. They move way too fast. Coke could have stayed with "the pause that refreshes" forever. Ditto "the real thing." But oh, nooooo ... they have to be innovative. Now they are paying the price.

Vodka is really interesting. It is very much like tap water--tasteless and interchangeable. So the value has to be added; the taste comes in the advertising. When you drink vodka, you really drink the advertising, slurp the story. So once you get the "taste," like Absolut has, you should leave it alone. Just keep everlastingly at it. Repetition, sorry to say.

I know the Absolut executives are watching every one else do bottle changes. I mean, just cruise the vodka aisle in the liquor store, and you can see Finlandia, Grey Goose, Chopin, and the others all goosing up the bottle. But I really think Absolut could just recycle the ads, and with the money they save, they could, say, endow a professorship. But I don't think they should muck around with a great ad campaign. Maybe in about 50 years they should start thinking about changing it. And then decide not to.

Disagree? Something tells me you might.

Best,

Jim