Advertisement boss Russell Howcroft has launched a livid diatribe towards the brand new Hard Solo alcoholic model of the favored lemon-flavored soda.
Japanese brewing large Asahi has launched the brand new alcohol-fortified tackle the traditional 1968 authentic as an easy-to-drink, boozy thirst quencher.
But promoting business veteran Howcroft, 58, has railed towards the change in an astonishing outburst, labeling Asahi “fools for doing it.”
“I can’t believe they did this,” he raged on ABC’s Gruen panel present. “I really can’t believe they’re going into the alcohol business.
“I can’t even tell you how angry it makes me.”
Japanese brewing large Asahi has launched the brand new alcohol-enriched variation of the traditional 1968 Solo authentic as an easy-to-drink boozy thirst quencher
The non-alcoholic model rose to prominence within the Seventies and Nineteen Eighties with its sequence of “Solo man” TV adverts that includes macho Aussie sporty dudes knocking again the soda.
The ‘thirst buster’ drink was distinctive to the Australian market and was based mostly on a barely glowing model of the traditional pub drink lemon squash.
It was marketed to be much less effervescent than different comfortable drinks in order that it may be drunk quicker and quench thirst extra rapidly.
But the transfer to the 4.5 per cent proof model – equal to medium-strength beers – has sparked outrage within the drinks business and amongst MPs and Howcroft alike.
A pack of 10 cans of 375ml Hard Solo ‘Alcoholic Lemon’ in Coles is presently priced at $44 and offered out inside days of occurring sale.
“They are fools for doing this,” Howcroft informed Gruen host Wil Anderson, 49. “And they need to stop doing it immediately. I’m serious.
“If you’re in the alcohol business, stay in the alcohol business. And if you’re in the soft drink business, you shouldn’t blur that line.’
He said similar “pre-mixed” drinks, as they’re referred to as within the business, equivalent to Cruisers differed in that they had been simply alcoholic drinks.
He added, “So you’re sitting around an executive’s table and saying, ‘We’ve got a brand that’s been appealing to teens for 50 years… now what we’re going to do is throw in some alcohol.” “?
‘It’s seriously off.’
Howcroft’s fellow panelist Todd Sampson, 53 – who regularly clashes with him – admitted he shared his concerns.
“In this case, I agree 100 percent with Russell,” he stated. “We have to protect children when it comes to alcohol, period.”
Advertisement boss Russell Howcroft (pictured) has launched a livid diatribe towards the brand new Hard Solo alcoholic model of the favored lemon-flavored soda
The non-alcoholic model gained fame within the Seventies and Nineteen Eighties with its sequence of “Solo man” TV adverts that featured macho Aussie sporty dudes pulling down the soda.
A ten-pack of 375ml cans of Hard Solo ‘Alcoholic Lemon’ in Coles is presently on sale for $44
Teal Independent MP Kylea Tink met with different crossbench MPs final week to debate stricter guidelines within the wake of Hard Solo’s launch.
She stated the product “failed the pub test” and puzzled why it had been authorized on the market in Australia.
“This is a product that looks like soda, tastes like soda and has the same name as soda,” she stated.
Teal Independent MP Kylea Tink met with different crossbench MPs final week to debate stricter guidelines within the wake of Hard Solo’s launch
“(It) went through a self-regulatory process and was apparently approved to be marketed.
“For me, there is nothing about this product that makes it an acceptable product to have on the shelf when it comes to alcoholic beverages.”
She added: “For a company like Asahi to come out and say there’s no problem with that product, to me it shows that there’s a clear break between the community’s expectation and the company’s expectation,” added them to it.
“I think we need to look at what happened – and find out where the system failed.”
WA’s Cancer Council additionally filed a grievance concerning the drink, including, “Hard Solo’s appeal to minors is evident given Solo’s established appeal to minors.”
Responding to the criticism, Asahi claimed that 85 p.c of drinkers of the comfortable model of Solo had been adults and that the alcoholic model was geared toward 25-50 yr olds.
“Hard Solo looks very different from regular Solo and we strongly refute any claims that they can be confused,” a spokesperson added.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Asahi for remark.