Remember that “edgy” advertisement that recently came out from the good folks at Absolut Vodka that redrew the map of América del Norte and gave a good chunk of the Estados Unidos back to the Mexicans?  You know: the one they ran in Mexico thinking that 300 million “dumbass gringos and gringas” would never see it?

You know: the ad that pissed a whole bunch of those 300 million “dumbass gringos and gringas” off?

Yeah, THAT advertisement.

Well, it seems that Ms. Paula Eriksson, the Vice President of Corporate Communications at V&S Absolut Spirits, has now issued an apology explanation excuse statement.  Here it is in full:

The In An Absolut World advertising campaign invites consumers to visualize a world that appeals to them — one they feel may be more idealized or one that may be a bit “fantastic.” As such, the campaign will elicit varying opinions and points of view. We have a variety of executions running in countries worldwide, and each is germane to that country and that population.

This particular ad, which ran in Mexico, was based upon historical perspectives and was created with a Mexican sensibility. In no way was this meant to offend or disparage, nor does it advocate an altering of borders, nor does it lend support to any anti-American sentiment, nor does it reflect immigration issues. Instead, it hearkens to a time which the population of Mexico may feel was more ideal.

As a global company, we recognize that people in different parts of the world may lend different perspectives or interpret our ads in a different way than was intended in that market. Obviously, this ad was run in Mexico, and not the US — that ad might have been very different.

Phew!  For a while there, I thought they weren’t going to apologize!

AND I WAS RIGHT!!!!!

That’s no apology; it’s a nose-thumbing—directed right at the aforementioned gringos and gringas.  Lemme see if I’m translating Eriksson’s statement right….

Dear Amerikan Dudes:

Jeez!  We wuz’ jes’ playin’ for the favor of our Mexican homies, Dudes!  We wuz jes’ trying to give a shout-out to all our border-hoppin’ amigos!

Chill!

Imagine, if you can, Ms. Eriksson saying it with a Swedish accent….

The statement (which is officially published here) has elicited a number of responses.  (Actually, at the time of this writing there are approximately 1,210 responses and the number is growing quickly.)  As you might imagine, the vast majority of the responses are by “dumbass gringos and gringas” who are, quite naturally, outraged.  (Go read some of the comments; they’re precious!)

At any rate (since Absolut is apparently in the mood to redraw maps), several commenters on the Absolut Web site have suggested redrawing the map of Europe for the benefit of Ms. Eriksson and her buddies at V&S Absolut Spirits and Pernod Ricard.  I already saw one that was quite good, but I thought I’d try my hand at it, too.  Here’s what I came up with.

A couple words of explanation:

Why France?  Because Pernod Ricard is headquartered there, and they now own the Absolut brand.  Besides, does anyone remember Vichy France and its history of collaboration with the Third Reich?

Sweden, while officially neutral during World War II, also had a disturbing history of collaboration with the German Nazis.  From Wikipedia:

When hostilities began on 1 September 1939, the fate of Sweden was unclear. Eventually, even though 20 nations had held a policy of neutrality in September 1939, only five European nations were capable of sustaining a policy of neutrality throughout the entire war (the others being Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland). Sweden was one of those countries able to maintain this delicate balance and avoid engagement in the European Theatre. Sweden owed this maintenance of neutrality to its location in the Scandinavian Peninsula, its long-held neutral stance in international relations, a dedicated military build-up and an unpredictable course of events which went in its favor. Another important factor was the concessions the Swedish government made to Germany, for example allowing the Wehrmacht to use Swedish railways to transport an infantry division, along with war material freight i.e. howitzers, tanks and anti-aircraft weapons and associated ammunition, from Norway to Finland, and to transport soldiers on leave between Norway and Germany.  [The emphasis is mine.]

And here’s a lovely little picture I was surprised to find:

Hmmm.  The caption in Wikipedia reads “The Swedish King Gustaf V and Prince Gustaf Adolf in Berlin 1939 to present a medal to Hermann Göring.

Woo hoo!  Giving a MEDAL to Hermann Göring!  Now that’s neutrality!

Well, that’s enough for this rant.  All I’m doing is making myself even angrier than I was when I started writing this post.

Oh, and by the way.  There are now 2,300 comments on the Absolut Web site.  And climbing….

Read more about this at Diggers Realm.  (The post has lots of links to other irate bloggers.)

And more from Planks’ Constant.

And gobs and gobs more at Michelle Malkin.

Pirate’s Cove has an “Absolute Caliphate” Photoshop, too.

And on Texas Fred’s….

Oh, yeah.  I forgot.  Any country that “maintained neutrality” during World War II  was a country of pussies.

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