Solo has been an Australian favourite since its inception in 1968, and only recently it made an adults only variation with Hard Solo. The boozy lemon drink quickly went viral as people couldn’t wait to try the classic flavour.

However, the new-to-market drink has people turning heads, and not because of its tart flavour. Rather, there has been an influx of complaints that Hard Solo is marketed towards minors. And, the debate has hit parliament.

MP for North Sydney Kylea Tink has been leading the push to limit or ban alcohol marketing from reaching minors. She spoke about Hard Solo, and referred to it as having issues “from beginning to end”. 

The criticism is tied up primarily in the packaging. 

“This is a product that looks like a soft drink, tastes like a soft drink, has the same name as a soft drink, went through a self-regulatory process and seemingly was approved to be marketed,” she says.

Crossbench MPs met with representatives from the alcohol industry on 10 August 2023, a pre-planned meeting that was about pushing for advertising reform on a swathe of unhealthy and harmful products including alcohol, gambling and fast food.

During this meeting, the new Solo was also brought up.

“We saw this new drink introduced to the market a little over a week ago and that has provided a really useful focal point for us to pursue these conversations,” says Tink.

Hard Solo and its appeal

The complaints weren’t limited to Tink and her team, with Cancer Council of WA also submitting an official complaint about the drink. Its main complaint was that the recognisable Solo packaging was too similar to the non-alcoholic version. 

“The appeal of Hard Solo to minors is evident given the established appeal of Solo to minors,” the statement says.

Solo, which is owned by Asahi, says that the company and the new packaging strictly complies with the ban on marketing alcohol to minors. The company argues that 85 percent of the original Solo consumers are adults, and the new drink is scoped to be bought predominantly by 25- to 50-year olds.

“This drink looks very different to regular Solo and we strongly refute any claims they can be confused,” says an Asahi spokesperson.

They’re making their way into our hearts and onto our screens, and the Aussie women’s FIFA team the Matildas is also making their way into the TV ratings’ record books.

Held every four years, the Women’s World Cup found its home for 2023 in Australia and the Aussie crowds are absolutely loving it. Adopting soccer as their sport of choice over cricket, AFL, netball and rugby, local viewers are tuning into the games by the millions.

In fact, the 7 August match between Denmark and Australia smashed the free-to-air ratings record for the year by nearly 400,000, with an estimated 2.294 million metro viewers tuning in to watch Captain Sam Kerr trot back on the field for the first time this tournament following an injury, after a two-goal thumping of Denmark. The only program that’s come close to those numbers is Nine’s State of Origin Game I in June, which didn’t even make three million metro viewers.

Matildas cement themselves in Aussie sport history

This World Cup is proving to be a shift in the market when it comes to women’s sports. Previously not a huge ratings winner, and the source of many exhausting public debates, women’s sports is seeing a change in its popularity – led by the Matildas. 

Research shows that women’s sports spectators have increased by a whopping 36 percent in 12 months, from June 2022 to June 2023, and these numbers show no signs of dipping. As more Australians tune in to watch the fate of the Matildas, who are currently placed the highest of any Aussie team that has previously been in a soccer world cup, these numbers will likely only increase.

It seems the only thing female sports has been missing is the fandom and the finances because the skills, the personalities and the rivalries have already been there. Now it’s time to make legends.

Fast food chain Taco Bell is celebrating “Taco Tuesday” in the UK by putting a positive spin on a common slur on a billboard. “See you next Tuesday” might be often used colloquially for a word we won’t be running here in Marketing mag, but Taco Bell’s risk is worth the reward.

The agency behind the eye-catching billboard The Or has taken a ‘Cheap Tuesday’ offer and ran with it. For £2, customers can treat themselves for a taco and a soft drink every Tuesday. And, in a time of economic crisis, two quid for a meal is an absolute steal.

To advertise this special, Taco Bell’s latest out of home campaign spells out “See you next Tuesday”. It’s a way to stop passersby, and only in the fine print do you find out just why you’re being technically insulted on a billboard.

Taco Bell and its cheap offer

Lucy Dee, head of marketing at Taco Bell UK spoke about the edgy campaign. “Life can throw all sorts of curveballs at you and we all deserve something to look forward to,” says Dee. “The Or have perfectly grasped this through the lens of British humour, creating an eye-catching campaign that frames Taco Tuesday as a weekly highlight and unmissable pick me up.”

Dan Morris, ECD at The Or added to Dee’s comments. “The incredible offer of a £2 taco and drink in this economy is almost guaranteed to become a landmark weekly moment,” he says. “In fact, it’s so powerful that Brits may even start using ‘See You Next Tuesday’ as a way to describe the uplifting spa day for your soul that bargain tacos give you, rather than to hint at a certain offensive slur. Hopefully.”

So, next time you think you’re being called a ‘See you next Tuesday’, check the fine print. Perhaps it’s not as sinister as it looks.

Rum and Coke might dominate cocktail menus around the world, but Pepsi wants consumers to consider Pepsi as the perfect partner for the popular drink.

If you thought there was a special day or month for everything, you’re not wrong. August is Rum Month and companies are pulling out all stops to celebrate. Soft drink giant Pepsi has joined the celebration and opened up a debate as old as the drink itself: Coke or Pepsi?

Pepsi is vying to be recognised as the better tasting cola when pairing with rum. In a new campaign #BetterwithPepsi, the campaign has been designed to make people rethink rum and Coke.

Along with a social media campaign, Pepsi’s creative includes finding a secret Pepsi logo in renowned rum company Captain Morgan’s own bottle. With a small circle, Pepsi shows that perhaps Captain Morgan was always hinting that it should’ve been the beverage of choice with the spiced rum. 

Pepsi pulls up the numbers to prove it’s a worthy battle for rum and Coke 

Pepsi also has the numbers to support that the recipe should now become ‘rum and Pepsi’. In a recent consumer preference survey, 56 percent of participants responded that they enjoyed mixing Pepsi with their spiced rum rather than Coke.

The research went even deeper, with flavour experts coming into the battle.

“Rum tends to evoke warm, sweet flavours reminiscent of caramel and vanilla, a result of the oak barrel ageing progress,” explains PepsiCo’s corporate executive research chef for global beverages Chef Kyle Shadix.

“The crisp, sweet and citrusy notes in Pepsi bring perfect balance to the warm spice notes of rum, like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, creating a smooth, well-rounded taste profile for a perfect summer cocktail!” 

Perhaps this should all come down to the most reputable decider of all: a blind taste test.

It seems that there are not many left in Australia this European summer. As the consumer appetite for flocking to another country intensifies, Urban List Vacays helps those planning a trip.

According to the 2023 Urban List Travel Report, three in four Australians have declared that overseas travel is their priority over the next three years. Perhaps it’s the hangover of two years of hard lockdowns, or perhaps it’s the call of European content, but the report states that 70 percent of respondents are already in the planning phase of an adventure abroad.

Urban List hears the call and launches Urban List Vacays

For both seasoned and new travellers, the planning stage can be some of the most overwhelming. Urban List has partnered with Flight Centre to take the stress out of making sure that the itinerary is meeting (and exceeding) all the traveller’s needs.

Urban List Vacays is an arm of Urban List with six dedicated travel hubs for some of the most popular destinations for Australians: Tokyo, Bali, Fiji, Sicily, Hawaii and London.

It’s an ideal partnership, as Urban List has long cemented itself as a site leaned on by foodies all over the country. With its listicles that detail where to find the best sandwiches, ramens or even Aperol Spritzes in Australia’s major cities, it only makes sense that these suggestions go global. The microsites part of Urban List Vacays details the best places to stay, where to eat and what fun activities to do when in the specific city.

So, if you’re looking for the best place for a ‘cold one in London’, Urban List Vacays has you sorted – leaving travellers with the most important things: capturing the best Instagram worthy content to make those stuck in their Australian offices start planning their next vacay.

Singer, dancer, and all-round talented former Wiggle Emma Watkins stars in the latest Nintendo Switch spot. 

In the new campaign from the gaming giant, Emma Watkins shows off how much a Nintendo Switch is integrated into her busy lifestyle. From chilling out with Ring Fit Adventure at the end of a long day, through to playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Pikmin 4 with her family members, the Nintendo Switch seems to have it all.

First launched in 2017, the Nintendo Switch has since been a staple in the suite of Nintendo consoles. From games through to encouraging being active, its latest campaign shows that this is much more than just about gaming. 

Emma Watkins as the face of Nintendo Switch

With her upcoming feature in Celebrity Amazing Race, Watkins is ready to show off her competitive edge. So battling her sister in the Nintendo games battleground just made sense.

An avid fan of Nintendo Switch, Watkins says, “It’s been such a thrill to partner with Nintendo Australia for this campaign and show how these games, and Nintendo Switch, form a part of my home routine and help me to relax and unwind by myself and with family. Sharing the fun with my husband and sister has been great too!”

The commercials also feature Emma’s sister, Hayley Watkins, and her husband, Oliver Brian, in supporting roles. The first TV commercial, featuring Ring Fit Adventure and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, is out now.

First rising to prominence on Australian screens as she became a member of The Wiggles, Watkins star continues to rise as her passion for movement and bodily expression has expanded into an interest in sign language. Watkins has worked on spreading awareness of Australia’s deaf community since she was young, and has learnt Auslan in recent years, completing her Diploma of Auslan (Australian Sign Language). She is currently studying a Diploma in Interpreting at Deaf Connect and her PhD at Macquarie University in Sydney, focusing on the affective, artistic integrations of sign language, dance and film editing.

For Omar de Silva, when launching FourthRev, it was all about reimagining higher education delivering career opportunities and outcomes for modern learners. 

Growing into marketing roles is a different journey for everyone. Some pathways are through higher education, and others land in marketing through their own career journey. When realising that in the industry there is a growing problem with the digital skills gap, de Silva decided it was time to accelerate the careers of those looking to advance their marketing skills.

What is FourthRev?

Created to give access to high-growth digital careers, FourthRev is the brainchild of de Silva and his business partner Jack Hylands. Described as a platform that “delivers life-changing experiences” it combines the best of career-focused education with leading technology companies and academic rigour. In short, FourthRev works with higher education facilities to bring career-focussed marketing, specifically digital marketing, into courses.

Founder de Silva spoke to Marketing mag about how it came to be.

“For us, it is about how we can work with universities to help them set up their students to land the best possible job. In this case, everyone wins,” he tells Marketing. “The universities win because they get to do a better job serving the students on what they are actually looking for. And, finally, the industry wins, because you have more people ready for work. Career-ready progressing and flourishing individuals.”

Partnering with the Melbourne Business School has been a huge win for FourthRev. Being Australia’s number one business school, it was an important opportunity to bring marketing directly into the business conversation. 

“To make it these days, you need to have some marketing knowledge – whether that be formal or informal,” de Silva explains. 

For FourthRev, it isn’t just about the straight textbook knowledge of marketing. It’s combined with the soft skills that marketers have. 

“We aren’t solely focused on the technical skills to do the task,” says de Silva. “We aim to teach you about the business acumen to understand why the task is actually relevant and worthwhile doing,” he finishes.

Making you a team member

The soft skills taught by the FourthRev available courses are also about building personal skills. For those with a wealth of knowledge and experience in marketing, it’s known that interpersonal skills can be just as important as market knowledge. FourthRev’s commitment is about enabling the best, and within that, teamwork and learning how to be within a marketing team is just as important, beyond marketing skills.

“I’m often asked marketing questions in a broad context, or an executive context, such as justifying spend and budget. People need to learn how to communicate these things effectively to their board or their team,” de Silva explains when asked about what is meant by learning more about soft skills.

FourthRev’s journey

Starting in 2019, FourthRev was originally created after sensing an ongoing digital skills gap that the world was facing. And it was an increasing problem. But, de Silva realised there is the opportunity to have programs and classes in place to close this gap. 

Partnering with higher education, FourthRev works with students to enhance their digital and marketing skills. And, he says, career outcomes are what is wanted most from the students. 

Find out more about enhancing your marketing skills.

It started out as a humble and childlike campaign for McDonald’s character Grimace, but his Grimace shake has become a dark TikTok trend.

A limited edition purple-coloured milkshake was released to celebrate Grimace’s birthday. What soon followed was a social media storm, a meme, as TikTok users post video of (fake) catastrophic side effects of the drink.

What is the Grimace shake?

An unsuspecting purple milkshake, the Grimace shake first got the internet’s attention when it was described as having the flavour of ‘Grimace’. The limited edition drink debuted on 12 June 2023, and was honouring the large purple monster’s birthday. It was part of what was dubbed the ‘Grimace meal’. 

But when the rather oddly coloured drink hit the market in the US, it received mixed reviews, followed by becoming the internet’s rallying cry for likes and shares. After ingesting the mysterious drink, people would start convulsing, losing control, maybe even (bravely) spitting purple goo all over themselves.

Some videos range from a few seconds to epic feature length (TikTok’s version of feature length, so about two minutes) – but the punchline is always the same, this Grimace shake will have deadly consequences.

Is this good for McDonald’s?

Although the McDonald’s and the interesting flavour choice is the butt of the joke, the fast food chain is laughing all the way to the bank. The US-only meal has gone viral, with Australians asking whereabouts the ghastly drink is available. People who normally don’t indulge in fast food weren’t going to give up the opportunity to go viral. 

All in all, it’s free marketing. Nothing goes past the internet.

The history of Grimace

The cute campaign plays directly into the mystery of Grimace. No one quite knows what the furry creature is. In 2014 a Tweet from the company stated that “Grimace lore says he is the embodiment of a milkshake or a taste bud.” So, in this fashion of Grimace being shrouded by mystery, the dedicated purple drink has not been granted a specific flavour.

Available with an order that includes a Big Mac, 10-piece McNugget and a medium fries, Aussies will be disappointed to learn that the mystery beverage won’t be coming over to our shores. 

Hays has released its FY23-24 Salary Guide, and it outlines how marketers should go about asking for a pay rise.

With the cost of living continuing to rise, recruitment and workforce solution specialists Hays have found that a significant majority of employers view individual performance as the most important factor when it comes to pay rise evaluations. 

Key elements to go through when looking for a pay rise

The primary factors that employers are looking at when reviewing pay rise requests in marketing include:

• The key responsibilities of the role.
• External median salaries for the same or similar roles.
• The organisation’s performance.
• The employee’s skills and expertise.
• The organisation’s internal set pay structure.

“We know that 95 percent of employers will increase salaries in their next review. But, with salary increase budgets under pressure, employees must make the best possible case to maximise the value of their pay rise this year,” says Matthew Dickason, CEO Asia Pacific at Hays.

“To boost your chances of a stronger pay rise, you must prepare a persuasive case,” he finishes.

Tips to maximise your value

When it comes to negotiation, these are some of the preparation tips as provided by Hays:

• Prepare your evidence: demonstrate why you deserve a raise, with a focus on your individual performance and the importance of your responsibilities.
• Research typical salaries for similar roles: review the recent salaries in the market as back up for your request.
• Set a meeting: ask your manager for a meeting for a salary review and maintain a professional manner.
• Be willing to negotiate: prepare to discuss the salary you feel your results are worth, but with some willingness to compromise.
• Have a contingency plan: if the agreement is not reached in this meeting, put a date in place for another review, or bridge the gap with improvements to work-life balance.

New data from Australian born payments company Airwallex records ad spend plummeting, with a 16 percent drop in 12 months.

Lachlan Millist of Airwallex speaks about the major drop in ad spend, with nearly a $2 billion decrease in domestic advertising. 

“The expense data track shows that Aussie businesses are scaling back ad spending in the face of a tough economic climate,” Millist says.

“What we are seeing from the way thousands of Australian businesses use our expense management products are that domestic and international advertising spending is being displaced by higher costs in areas like travel and recruitment,” he finishes.

Ad spend plummeting by nearly 20 percent

All data reviews by Airwallex were comparing January to May 2022 through to January to May 2023. During this time, it was international advertising that took the hardest hit, as it was down by 19 percent. 

In some positive news, although the advertising spend tap is being turned off, it doesn’t mean that businesses are turning off the lights. Some of this budget is being diverted to other areas. In fact, it’s gotten up to a nine percent increase across other areas of the business that might have suffered during lockdowns.

“What we are seeing from the way thousands of Australian businesses use our expense management products is that domestic and international advertising spending is being displaced by higher costs in areas like travel and recruitment,” Millist says.

So, it might be up to marketers to fight for some of the sparing budget. 

“Marketers and advertisers are having to fight harder for a share of the pie while businesses carefully review internal expenses,” Millist explains.

“More and more businesses are picking expense management partners like us to keep a close real-time watch on expenses, while accessing competitive foreign exchange rates for the overseas marketing trends.”