The Absolut Creative Competition

The Absolut Creative Competition challenged amateur artists across the globe to create an original work of art inside the iconic Absolut bottle shape. This was an international art competition that ran in 19 countries. There was one overall prize of €20,000 for the global winner plus runners-up prizes for each country winner.

Prizeology initially drew up the competition criteria, ensuring that they reflected the concept, aligned with the client’s brand values, inspired entrants and made the judging process clear and fair.

We reviewed the regulatory frameworks in all the countries involved. We determined in which countries a competition permit was needed and whether it was permissible to give away cash or if an alternative prize was required. In some countries the position was further complicated by alcohol regulations. We then created one master set of terms and conditions which satisfied the legal requirements across all the participating territories.

Before the global jury panel (made of three leading creatives voices Mickalene Thomas, Aaron Cezar and Bose Krishnamachari) reviewed the submissions, we longlisted all the entries, removing any which breached the Ts&Cs. We then audited all the shortlisted entries to ensure that they didn’t breach copyright. Additionally, we advised on the tax positions of the prize-winners in each country.

Prizeology’s expertise in global prize promotions and diligence ensured that, from 9000 international entries, the Absolut Creative Competition successfully identified a new generation of bold artistic voices from around the world.

The top prize went to illustrator Sarah Saroufim from Lebanon, whose design aimed to open up a conversation around mental health and featured the words ‘Don’t keep things bottled up’ inside a bottle.