By Marisa Pjerrou
The Skyy Vodka website at www.skyy.com
successfully uses Flash animation, music, and a very distinct-looking
graphic design to evoke the look and feel of being in a really hip,
modern lounge that's a throwback to the 50's (but a year 2001 kind
of 50's). The web site is basically nothing but one huge in-your-face
ad for Skyy Vodka and I hesitate somewhat to sing its praises for
that reason; hence a distinction to be made here that my lauding of
the site is just for the site itself, not for the vodka.
www.skyy.com is obviously
intended for Skyy Vodka customers, or potential ones; a message in
very small print at the bottom of the home page states that the site
is intended for individuals of legal drinking age (like that's really
going to keep kids from looking at it). Once you're in the site you
don't feel like leaving: the lush music, cool graphics, and interactive
elements seductively (and effectively) trap you in an intoxicating
Skyy Vodka microworld of cocktail etiquette, dance steps to the tango
and merengue, the drink of the day, and 50's inspired art by an artist
named Shag. There's even a corny Magic 8 Ball-like feature called
"Ask the Bartender" where you can type in a question (or
just nonsensical gibberish, like *&^(%^$k) and get one of many
rote responses from the bartender, such as "Don't count on it"
or "After hearing that I'm thinking about changing professions."
A particularly impressive feature of www.skyy.com
was the trio of short films made exclusively for Skyy Vodka that are
presented in streaming video. By the looks of the set design and caliber
of actors and directors chosen, these were obviously pricey endeavors.
It appears the directors were given a fairly high budget to work with
and creative leeway, but with the one stipulation that a blue bottle
of Skyy Vodka is shown for a certain amount of screen time during
the course of each film. Of the three directors - Academy award-nominated
Agnieska Holland, David Veloz and Luis Mandoki - I liked Mandoki's
Meeting Genevieve the best. In Mandoki's short, an off-screen narration
of a man's voice is heard as he describes his fiancée glowingly
to his mother; on screen, supermodel Claudia Schiffer, as the fiancée
is shown going about her daily routine with a personality that is
anything but glowing (the ever elegant Dina Merrill plays the future
mother-in-law). Schiffer's acting may not be the best, but I thought
the film was original, well-made, and suitable for watching on the
web.
Skyy Vodka's web site is not just well-done, it's almost over-done
with no stone left unturned in how the designers created the web environment.
The site's graphics are amazing, and the navigation and buttons intuitive.
But I did find the music to be incredibly annoying after a while;
even with "sound off" selected, the next button I'd click
would begin to make another, different kind of sound. The one recommendation
I have is to tone down the music and sound elements a little - it
isn't necessary for every button to make noise!