Absolut
Celebrating Friendship with a Collective Gift in AR
Departing from traditional gifting moments, Absolut reimagined how friends celebrate each other with a collective AR experience built for anytime connection.
"The Absolut project set out to redefine how we celebrate friendship and mark special moments."
The experience was designed as a Mini App, a mobile interface accessible directly by scanning the bottle, with no download required.
It all started with the gifter.
Upon scanning the QR code, users entered the Personalisation Studio, a playful creative space to record voice notes, add photos, music, emojis, and choose a colour theme.
The link could then be shared with friends, who each added their own touch, like signing a group card but reimagined for today.
When the giftee scanned their bottle, all the messages came alive in augmented reality.
Photos, emojis, and voice notes swirled around the bottle, creating a colourful, emotional moment that felt spontaneous, human, and connected, like friendship made visible.
The AR moment could then be captured and shared instantly on social media, turning each gift into a personal story made to be shared.
Built around Absolut’s Born to Mix philosophy, the project turned gifting into a shared act of creativity, where every message became part of a collective celebration.
AR Experience
The project began with in-depth audience research to understand how Absolut could make Born to Mix meaningful beyond product communication.
The brand’s younger audience valued safe spaces, small acts of kindness, and community-driven connection.
This insight led to the concept of collective gifting, a participatory, digital-first experience built around emotion and collaboration.
The creative development involved defining the gifter and giftee journeys, shaping the storyboard and visual language with a 3D artist, and curating a range of themes and artworks that prioritised emotion and mood over occasion — allowing each user to define their own reason to celebrate.
The launch extended across Amazon, e-commerce, and social media, supported by a detailed production plan ensuring the experience remained fluid, intuitive, and human.
Approach
Version 1 launched successfully, engaging Absolut’s progressive and community-driven audience.
Users embraced the idea of co-created digital gifting, blending emotional storytelling with real-world connection.
The experience strengthened Absolut’s positioning as a connector of people and set a new benchmark for digital brand activations within the group.
Projects and results are presented for illustrative purposes. Information is based on public sources and project reports.
Images adapted from public materials. © respective brands.
Impact
