ABSOLUT KITSCH is an ad using the picture from ABSOLUT TCHOTCHKE: a porcelain knickknack featuring a handmade Absolut bottle with the words "ABSOLUT VODKA" in raised porcelain, painted in light blue; in between those words, "Country of Sweden" has been handwritten in black ink. The bottle rests on a raised porcelain base with pastel and pale yellow flowers (which also surround the emblem on the bottle's neck). There's a fawn, a rabbit and a turtle on the base. The knickknack rests on a fading embroidered doily on a tabletop.
The word kitsch comes from the German word for trash; literally, it's a term most frequently applied since the early 20th century to works considered pretentious and tasteless. Exploitative commercial objects such as Mona Lisa scarves are described as kitsch, as are works that claim artistic value but are weak, cheap, or sentimental. The kitsch in this ad is the Absolut Vodka bottle rip-off! TBWA and the typical Euro ad info are printed up the left margin, including ©1998. |
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