MAM
Absolut invites designs for ‘Absolut India edition’ bottle
MUMBAI: ABSOLUT, the world’s most iconic vodka is giving a lifetime opportunity to India’s talented artists and creative minds to design forthe first ever ‘ABSOLUT India Limited Edition’ and be part of the rich creative heritage of ABSOLUT. Launched primarily in Americas and Europe, and now India will celebrate its very own Limited Edition for ABSOLUT and join the league of rare limited editions. .
This initiative will put India on the global vodka map with the other leading markets.
The ABSOLUT Limited Editions have predominantly been designed by renowned artists, but with the India edition, ABSOLUT has decided to reach out to various artists and creative minds and to design the ‘ABSOLUT India Limited Edition’ and become a part of history. The brief is to create an India-themed, India-inspired design andadapt what their representation and love about India into a fresh, creative design. The campaign is in partnership with Talenthouse India, SEA’s leading creative crowdsourcing platform.
The selected design will be incorporated on the ‘ABSOLUT India Limited Edition’ bottles giving credit to the designer.
Announcing the initiative, Kartik Mohindra, Business Head – International Brands,Pernod Ricard India said,“ABSOLUT has built a strong association with art and creativity in a short span of time in India with it’s collaborations with leading artists such as Anish Kapoor, Subodh Gupta,Vikram Seth and Bharti Kher.
For designing of ABSOLUT India Limited Edition, we are confident that with the pool of young talent in our country, we will receive overwhelming response for this campaign.”
Commenting on the launch of the contest, Arun Mehra, CEO, Talenthouse India said, “The market is once again warming up with exciting campaigns and we have developed expertise in product packaging. We admire ABSOLUT’s creative bottles representing cities across the globe and are very proud to associate with the brand on its India initiative. At Talenthouse India, we always encourage creativity and talent through various innovative ways. Today’s youth are bustling with creativity and we are sure that through ABSOLUT’s initiative many aspiring Indian artists will get an opportunity to showcase their sparkling talent”.
The last date to submit the designs is August 06, 2014 and the winners will be announced on August 20, 2014. To know more about the contest and participate, log onto https://www.talenthouse.com/i/AbsolutIndia.
Brands
Apple bites back: the $599 MacBook Neo is the cheapest Mac ever made
The tech giant unveils a budget laptop that packs a punch — and a lot of cheek
CALIFORNIA: Apple has never been shy about charging a premium. So when Cupertino rolls out a MacBook at $599 (approx. Rs 55,000) , it’s worth sitting up straight.
The MacBook Neo, unveiled Tuesday, is Apple’s most affordable laptop to date — undercutting its own MacBook Air and taking a sharp swipe at the budget PC market in one fell swoop. It starts at $499 for students, which, for a machine with Apple silicon inside, is frankly a steal.
At the heart of the Neo is the A18 Pro chip — the same muscle that powers the latest iPhones. Apple claims it is up to 50 per cent faster for everyday tasks than a rival PC running Intel’s Core Ultra 5, and three times quicker on on-device AI workloads. Fanless and featherweight at 2.7 pounds, it runs silently and promises up to 16 hours of battery life. Try doing that on a Chromebook.
The 13-inch liquid retina display clocks in at 2408-by-1506 resolution with 500 nits of brightness and support for billion colours — sharper and brighter, Apple says, than most rivals in this price band. It comes dressed in four colours: blush, indigo, silver, and a zesty new citrus, with matching keyboard shades to boot.
Connectivity is modest — two USB-C ports, a headphone jack, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 6 — but this is a budget machine, not a pro workstation. The 1080p FaceTime camera, dual mics with directional beamforming, and Spatial Audio speakers round out a package that punches well above its weight class.
Apple senior vice-president of hardware engineering John Ternus alled it “a laptop only Apple could create.” That’s the kind of line that makes rivals wince — because, annoyingly, he might be right.
The Neo runs macOS Tahoe, with Apple Intelligence baked in for AI writing tools, live translation, and the sort of on-device smarts that keep user data away from the cloud. It also boasts 60 per cent recycled content — the highest of any Apple product — for those who like their bargains with a side of conscience.
For $599, Apple isn’t just selling a laptop. It’s selling an argument — that good design and real performance needn’t cost the earth. The PC industry had better have a decent comeback ready.
