Svedka Is Giving Its Sexy Robot The Axe
Svedka's sexually confusing robot "spokeswoman" — famous for ridiculous tag lines like "make your next trophy wife 100% titanium" — is losing her starring role as the vodka company's marketing mascot.
Although Ad Age reports she'll still be seen in the occasional social media campaign and marketing event, that sounds like the beginning of the phase-out process.
Diana Pawlik, Svedka VP of marketing, told Ad Age that even though she "worked very hard for us, and she's played a very key role ... right now the focus is about the character of the flavor and the character of the experience from enjoying and indulging in the new flavors."
The new ads will highlight orange cream pop and strawberry colada flavors with images of colorful humans — no titanium in sight! — in bikinis and sunglasses.
Sigh.
The Svedka robot, named one of Business Insider's 10 sexiest brand icons ever, was first introduced in 2005 by New York agency Amalgamated.
She was created by Stan Winston, the special effects supervisor and makeup artist behind "Terminator," "Jurassic Park," Iron Man," and "Avatar."
In spite a reprimand for violating the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States' restriction on "graphic or gratuitous nudity," degrading women, or "sexually lewd" language, the company was still bought by Constellation Brands for $384 million in 2007 and experienced an uptick of sales following the robot's introduction.
2007 was also the year it pulled an ad with the tagline, "Gay men still prefer Svedka over sex with women."
In spite of inciting complaints, the robot has been the focal point of Svedka's marketing strategy for almost a decade. We'll see if the new campaign lasts.
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