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Props to the team behind the new ads for Stolichnaya Vodka!

In the New York City subways, a new poster campaign has taken over and harkened us back to an era of dirt-on-your-cheeks industry and unwaivering national pride. You readers know I am keen on design that highlights cultural icons and trends, (although usually British or American) so I am infinitely amused by the ads.

Apparently, the brand has a long history of mid-century propaganda-inspired advertising. I suppose it makes perfect sense, as the brand was actually owned in part by the Soviet Government. Again, props to those who managed to do their research and make the ads in the style of the Construcivist movement of the early 20th Century. Wikipedia acutally has a pretty comprehensive article on it.

Is that Matthew Broderick in the center, right behind Juan Valdez

And like everything else, it makes me a bit nostalgic. I mean, without the Soviet Union, we never would have known movies like War Games, or the entire concept of James Bond. Not to mention the CIA and that whole thing.

UPDATE: I just noticed how the header (and logo) for Web Worker Daily, a blog about productivity and work in the 21st Century, is clearly inspired by the Russian propaganda and constructivist movement.

// a tale of New York, advertising: outdoor, brands & branding, national identities
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