The Swedish vodka maker recently rolled out a billboard and press campaign in Mexico created by advertising agency Teran\TBWA.
In the ad, the US-Mexico border lies where it was before the Mexican-American war of 1848 when California was Mexican territory and known as Alta California. Following the war, Alta California was ceded to the US, becoming the modern-day state of California.
Immigration from Mexico into the US is an issue of major political tension and the ad prompted a vocal backlash from US anti-immigration groups including American Border Patrol in Arizona and Save Our State in California and New York.
The execution features the line 'In an Absolut world' alongside a bottle of the vodka brand. Although it was not shown in the US, the campaign generated a buzz on social networking websites and blogs, including Mexico Reporter, and was subsequently picked up by mainstream US media outlets.
One visitor to said: "I find this ad deeply offensive, and needlessly divisive. I will now make a point of drinking other brands. And 'vodka and tonic' is my drink."
The ad also managed to cause in the first place, while the invited people to boycott Absolut.
However, the ad went down well among Mexicans. Writer Guadalupe Loeza said some Mexicans still begrudged the loss of half of their territory to the US.
"It is a wound that has still not quite healed," says Loeza. "For Mexicans seeing this advert, it is like remembering that big house they once lived in instead of the small apartment they now have."
Defending the ad last week, Absolut said the ad was created "with a Mexican sensibility" and was not meant for the US market.
A spokeswoman said on : "In no way was this meant to offend or disparage, nor does it advocate an altering of borders, nor does it lend support to any anti-American sentiment, nor does it reflect immigration issues.
"Instead, it hearkens to a time which the population of Mexico may feel was more ideal," she wrote.