Is Absolut Aztlan absolute rubbish?

Vodka firm Absolut backtracked from a print ad based on Mexico's previous sovereignty over areas of California and Texas. “In no way was it meant to offend or disparage, nor does it advocate an altering of borders” according to part of a statement from the Swedish-based company.

The ads- which ran and Mexico and were pulled this week- tapped the nerve of a few people in the blogosphere who viewed them as offense and/or anti-American. Others have called for a boycott against Absolut.

Some ad directors tried to put the affair in a more measured perspective:

"I think the Absolut ad campaign is terrific. For Mexican eyes only, that is," said Manny Gonzalez, vice president and managing director of Hill Holliday Hispanic/abece, a Miami-based ad agency specializing in the Latino market.
"This advertising basically taps into a very painful episode of Mexico's history, so the cultural code for understanding that [for Mexicans] is 'We were robbed,' " said Eduardo Caccia, vice president of Mindcode, a Mexico City advertising consultancy. "For the U.S. it's different. The understanding for that episode is 'We bought some land. We made a deal.' The same event, but with different meanings."

The “Absolute World” ad campaign has previously not shied away from controversy. (Absolut vagina, anyone)?

Image- Monsters & Critics

Sources- Scotsman.com, Absolutelynot.com, UPI, Los Angeles Times, La Plaza, Copyranter