This Absolut ad. garnered a lot of attention lately and has apparently earned the ire of many Americans for its depiction of the pre-1848 borders that made what are now the states of California and Arizona as part of the Mexican nation.

I’m not offended by its possible implications that California and Arizona should have stayed a part of the Mexican nation, in fact I find it to be an interesting study on the ramifications of Manifest Destiny and American colonialism.

What I do find troubling about the ad however, is that it plays upon a time an Absolut spokeswoman stated “the population of Mexico may feel was more ideal," for the uses of an alcohol company.

There is an inherent cultural insensitivity of depicting a time when Mexican nationals could easily travel between the areas of what are now California, Arizona, and the nation of Mexico - a time when they were not seen as criminals for migrating towards the waves of opportunity.

Plastering this ad and its depiction of a seemingly more idyllic time throughout Mexico and creating nostalgia for a time that can never be recreated or returned to is probably one of the greatest examples of thinly veiled cultural insensitivity since the cover of this month's issue of Vogue magazine hit newstands.

I’m left to wonder what the concept behind the advertisement was?

“Let’s show them an idyllic and nostalgic image of a time they can never go back to and use the ensuing depression to drive them to our Swedish vodka that they probably cannot afford exactly because of what has occurred since that map became an anachronism?”

 

...oh and, Absolut is gross.