The authenticity algorithm: How Absolut vodka scales creativity with AI

Beyond the Bottle: Absolut Vodka’s AI-Powered Journey to Authentic Global Creativity at Web Summit Lisbon 2025

Pernod Ricard faces the complex challenge of maintaining global brand consistency and local relevance across diverse markets, all while managing costs. Chief Digital Officer Pierre-Yves Calloc’h highlighted the “nightmare” of fragmented marketing efforts. The company aims for its 200+ brands, including Absolut Vodka, to express their core identity authentically, balancing global standards with local adaptation.

Absolut Vodka, known for its purity and creativity, initially exposed the limitations of generic AI. Global Culture & Creative Director Axelle de Buffévent found off-the-shelf AI tools produced visuals lacking brand essence, with issues like empty bottles, poor lighting, and inappropriate stylistic elements. This demonstrated the need for a sophisticated approach to meet the specific aesthetic and emotional requirements of a premium brand.

Pernod Ricard responded by developing “Ginie,” a custom AI tool tailored to its brands. Ginie offers a user-friendly interface for creative teams and employs technical layers to translate brand essence playbooks into “parametric prompts.” By integrating leading industry AI engines, Ginie ensures generated images strictly adhere to brand guidelines, providing precise control over creative output and maintaining authenticity.

Ginie significantly enhances visual quality, producing authentic images with details like full bottles, condensation, and appropriate lighting, transforming generic elements into brand-aligned visuals. This tool enables the rapid creation of thousands of localized versions from a single creative idea within minutes, streamlining global adaptation without diluting Absolut’s identity. Ginie’s capabilities have also expanded to include video generation.

Pernod Ricard’s broader AI strategy, initiated five years ago, extends to optimizing salesforce operations and marketing mix across its extensive portfolio. Key learnings emphasize owning and mastering AI tools for team engagement and tailoring solutions to specific needs. By assembling open-source platforms and utilizing the best available engines, the company ensures its AI initiatives are controllable, synergistic, and aligned with strategic goals.

Ginie’s online assets have shown excellent performance due to their authentic and on-brand nature. Financially, Ginie is more cost-effective than traditional production and up to 20 times cheaper than using third-party AI creators. This efficiency and creative control have been well-received by the CFO, underscoring the tangible value of their proprietary AI approach.

Pernod Ricard calls its method an “authenticity algorithm,” where human expertise guides AI to interpret and express brand uniqueness. They offer three key tips: first, protect your brand’s timeless dimensions; second, optimize the entire content production process with AI, including brief helpers and compliance checkers; and third, empower creatives through change management, viewing AI as a transformative tool, not a replacement.

A crucial bonus tip from Mr. Calloc’h is to involve the CFO early to establish clear success metrics and secure ongoing project funding. Ultimately, Pernod Ricard believes AI does not compromise authenticity but rather eliminates mediocrity, transforming the challenges of fragmentation into a dream of consistency. Future winning brands will effectively integrate their brand identity into an owned and mastered algorithm.