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Hard Rated brings the heat across the ditch again with new stunts and activations
Australian RTD, Hard Rated, officially landed in New Zealand earlier this year, launching with a cheeky campaign that leant into the trans-Tasman brain drain, which, according to the brand, may have simply been caused by Australians hogging the best RTD.
Created by Droga5 ANZ, part of Accenture Song, the next phase of the campaign focused on making amends for enticing New Zealanders across the ditch by bringing one back home. To do this, the brand issued a nationwide callout encouraging people to ‘dob in a friend’ living in Australia who needed convincing to return. Submissions ranged from heartfelt (“Mum’s sick of putting the cat on FaceTime”) to blunt (“He supports the Wallabies now”).
Reframing a familiar narrative
As Tatyana Dickson, GM marketing at Asahi Beverages NZ explains, the idea aimed to reframe a familiar narrative: “New Zealanders have long crossed the ditch for better pay or warmer weather, or so we thought. Hard Rated’s launch campaign flipped that idea, hinting that maybe the real reason was to get a taste of Australia’s number one RTD.”
Once Hard Rated identified its chosen participant, Grayson, the brand activated a series of attention-grabbing stunts to bring him home. A helicopter banner urging his return flew over Sydney Harbour and Bondi Beach and the same message appeared on the front page of the New Zealand Herald. Human and bike billboards then tracked him through his Sydney suburb, sharing messages from his friends and family. Radio listeners left voicemail messages offering humorous reasons he should come back, while social channels documented the chase in real time.
The effort culminated in a celebratory welcome in Aotearoa, complete with airport signage marking his return.
Capturing the Trans-Tasman rivalry
Droga5 ANZ executive creative directors Christie Cooper and James Conner note that the campaign builds on the brand’s established identity: “Hard Rated is already a powerhouse in Australia and we wanted to bring that same energy to New Zealand, with a little cheek and a lot of flavour. This next act in our campaign captures the trans-Tasman rivalry perfectly, proving that sometimes the best imports are worth bringing home.”
With humour, large-scale stunts and a strong dose of trans-Tasman banter, the activation and social campaign reinforced Hard Rated’s irreverent personality while helping position Australia’s number one RTD as a leader in the New Zealand market. According to Nielsen Scantrack, Hard Rated Lemon is ranked as the #1 Light RTD product in Aotearoa since it launched in May of this year.
