ABSOLUT VODKA | ABSOLUT MACHINES | 2008
Can machines be creative? They answered with a robot orchestra / ABSOLUT VODKA "ABSOLUT MACHINES"
In 2008, robot orchestras showed up in Stockholm and New York. Someone, somewhere in the world, would send a short melody over the web, and the machines would "interpret" it on the spot, turning it into a three-minute song. It was a wonderfully romantic experiment cooked up by Absolut.
The problem
Absolut had a history of working with artists, fashion designers, and musicians. This time, they reached out to technology instead, teaming up with MIT robotics engineers and the Swedish engineering group Teenage Engineering.
The insight
The question was simple: can machines be creative? Nobody had an answer, so they decided to build one and find out.
The idea
"Absolut Quartet" was a giant robotic orchestra, with a robot cannon launching balls at a marimba and robotic fingers playing wine glasses. "Absolut Choir" was a choir of 22 robots singing together. From 2/28 to 4/25, 2008, notes sent in through the website were received by the machines in New York and Stockholm, which turned them into music on the spot and streamed it live.
What happened
The campaign won a Gold Lion and an Epica D'Or, along with an Award of Distinction in the Interactive Art category at Ars Electronica, among other honors. The website is still up, but the connection to the machines has since been cut.
Afterthought
A small melody sent by a stranger, picked up by a distant machine and turned into music, then sent back. That's all it is, but just imagining it fills you with something warm. A vodka brand was doing this long before generative AI became the talk of the town. Can machines be creative? Watch the video and you'll know right away. Yes, they can—as long as humans are willing to play along.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2008
