‘Infamous Since 1864’

Cut from Adweek

Some brands have to create dramatic advertising or packaging to make up for the incredibly bland true stories behind them.

But not Smirnoff, whose vodka began as the hand-picked favorite of czars and then (to avoid the czars’ bullet-riddled fate) was spirited away on a decades-long, byzantine path to eventual global success.

That history of how the brand fled Russia amid revolution and eventually became one of the world’s largest liquor brands now fuels Smirnoff’s first global campaign in 25 years: “Infamous Since 1864.” ...

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