Absolut Vodka ‘MakerFest’ at the AGO MASSIVE Party

The AGO’s MASSIVE party is always an extravaganza of visuals and this year’s MASSIVE 10 was no different. Everyone was there, from legacy patrons and supporters, to kooky artists, musicians, fashion types, scenesters, business types, and all else in between.

 

Some people were dressed the nines in flowing gowns and sky-high heels, some people were in jeans and t’s and some were in the most outlandish outfits you have ever seen, complete with David Bowie “Aladdin Sane-esque” make up.

 

It is a place to see and be seen. MASSIVE10 and the AGO celebrate innovation and creativity, making it the perfect setting to showcase Absolut’s new brand direction and the launch of the brand platform ‘MakerFest’, which is part of the global campaign Transform Today.

 

Absolut has long been a promoter of the arts and at the forefront of the next “big thing” so the partnership with the Maker community and MAKELab in particular was a natural fit.

 

This campaign is extremely exciting for us to work on because we really see Absolut’s transformation and see the brand move back to its roots within emerging art communities and particularly with an art community the we truly believe is on the cusp of transformation, the maker movement.

 

The maker movement as we see it is truly a combination of modern day folk artists who are inspired through collaboration and innovation.

 

The Makers are tech savvy tinkers who have their fingers on the pulse of what is up and coming. They build robots out of dinnerware and bits of this and that, they build multi-sensory light installations and hack just about everything. Creativity of this magnitude isn’t just celebrated by the Absolut brand, it is reveled in, and that’s why the Makers are the perfect partners to bring the Transform Today message to Absolut’s customer base.

 

Guests to MASSIVE 10 were treated to specially designed Absolut cocktails and wowed by the fully interactive installation built entirely out of Absolut bottles, 3D printed connectors, and hundreds of LED lights.

 

The 3D printed installation was designed and built by Jonathan Moneta and his team at MAKELab for Absolut. Party-goers were invited to interact and control the colours emitted by the LED lights that illuminated the Absolut bottles by tweeting to @AbsolutCanada and hashtagging the colours they wanted to see.

 

Guests were also able to take away 3D printed miniatures of the Absolut sculpture that Jonathan and his team would make on the spot.

 

The reaction was better than we could have hoped. People were genuinely impressed with the installation and at the immediate responsiveness of Twitter, and let’s be honest, everyone loves a 3D printer!

Overall, the event was a positive experience for the guests and our Absolut clients. This new brand direction has been something we all have been working on for months and it was great feeling to see it come to life. We anticipated this would be well received by the general public, but were pleasantly overwhelmed with the positive response and feedback we received at MASSIVE 10.

 

By Ashley White