Vodka brand Absolut has launched a new Canadian campaign, turning to AI to find the cocktails that best embody some of the country’s most vibrant neighbourhoods – even if some of the ingredients are a bit more philosophical than what you might find behind a typical bar.

To create the “Mix Your Neighbourhood” campaign, locals in 22 different neighbourhoods in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary were asked about the “ingredients” that made their communities what they are. These weren’t actual cocktail components – think more along the lines of aesthetics, mindsets and values than bitters and tonic – but they were nonetheless fed into an AI system to generate images of cocktails that might be made from ingredients like “tradition,” “eclectic” and “indie book shops.”

The result are fantastical images of cocktails in vibrant colours, extravagantly shaped glasses and garnishes from fruits that may not actually exist in our world.

In addition to creating eye-catching and highly localized art for the campaign, the images were also given to bartenders in each of the neighbourhoods, who then created actual recipes for the far-out cocktails. They are available on Absolut’s website, where Canadians can also nominate their neighbourhood to be “mixed” next.

“Mix Your Neighbourhood” is a Canadian execution of Absolut’s “Born To Mix” campaign. Launched last year as its largest-ever global campaign, “Born To Mix” was based around cocktails – not just the craft that goes into them or the fun in drinking one, but the personality, diversity and creativity they can represent.

“Absolut is always looking for new ways to mix, and the combination of neighbourhoods and AI technology unlocked a rich territory for mixology that hasn’t been explored visually before,” says Caroline Begley, VP of marketing at Corby Spirit and Wine. “Through this campaign, we want to leave Canadians inspired by the people, places and culture that surround them and to drink in every last drop of what makes these places special.”