Vegemite turns 100 – A heritage advertising subject

For Joubert, the Aussie spread remains a heritage advertising subject because it’s been with Australians through everything – from world wars to school lunches.  

“How many other Australian iconic brands have medical endorsement, been with us through everything (wars, economic ups and downs, our lunchboxes in primary school) and have been consistently branded and advertised for 100 years?” she says.  

Vegemite has stood the test of time in advertising, updating its commericals to reflect the current period and emerging trends. 

More recently, Vegemite’s 2020 commercial asked: "How do you make anything taste like Australia?"

The advertisement prompts the country to add the salty condiment to practically all foods in order to make it "Australian".  

This commerical has evolved alongside Australia's multi-culturalism, advances in technology and food innovation. It does, however, remain consistent as a national symbol with its Australian roots.

Spry at RMIT notes the spread's effective advertising ability to document the major events and people of Australia’s history.  

“Consider the Bartymite rebrand, which of course celebrates our Aussie tennis legend, Ash Barty. It is an artefact of Australian culture,” says Spry.  

Despite the brand's unmistakable presence in the advertising sector, Phillips at Luma notes that sales have been slowly declining for the past 15 years.

"This seems to be partly due to the changing tastes, preferences for alternative spreads or breakfast options and shifts in the make-up of the Australian population (according to the ABS, now around a third of Australians were born overseas)," says Phillips.

"Certainly, if you challenge the average Australian to recall five Vegemite ads, most will struggle to name more than one. And they will likely all name the same ad - one that was developed in 1956. Have we done nothing to cut-through and drive memorability since then?

"Or is it that the original ‘Happy Little Vegemites’ ad developed by J. Walter Thompson (JWT) was just so iconic that nothing could surpass it? Possibly."

Phillips notes the simple jingle, the power of nostalgia and the brand's consistency are what ultimately have kept the original Vegemite commericals in the minds of so many Australians. 

"The use of the jingle was catchy and one that every Australian over 45 can sing. It is an ear worm that gets stuck inside our heads. It helps to get the ad noticed and conveys a message about the brand," says Phillips.

"One of the elements of the original campaign is that it takes people back to happy, simpler and relatable times and leaves people feeling good. Many brands seem to shy away from leaning into their ‘heritage’ because it is perceived as old fashioned and uncool. But old fashioned does not have to be a negative association – it can provide a sense of trust and stability.

"The ad was originally on air for eight years, so there was consistency and repetition in the media play – everyone knew the ad and heard it regularly. But this is what we need to develop memory structures. And this is also what we need to create iconic campaigns. Do we give our ads enough time to run before we get bored of them these days?"

Elton believes that through the eye catching livery and typography, to its chart topping place in popular culture, Vegemite has reinforced itself generation after generation as an iconic brand that Australians feel the deepest affinity with.

"Whether it’s a tiny little traveller’s jar in a backpack, or an elephant foot sized urn in the pantry, Vegemite equals the taste of Australia and it’s hard to imagine a time before it existed," says Elton.

Vegemite's media and creative accounts were won by creative agency Thinkerbell in 2018. This came after Vegemite parted ways with JWT, its ad agency of 74 years.

The brand worked with JWT since 1944, making it one of the longest standing creative agency partnerships in the world of FMCG marketing. 

Adam Ferrier, founder and consumer pyshcologist at Thinkerbell, says the food people eat is a reflection on who they are as a country. 

"National dishes take on huge significance as in some way they reflect what we are all about. There’s something about Vegemite that makes it universally understood," says Ferrier.

"With such a clear proposition it makes it easy to activate and amplify, and stories about Vegemite are guaranteed eyeballs."

  

Advertising has been paramount in constructing and reinforcing Vegemite over the past century. Elton reflects on the various commercials and how they have ultimately kept the spread alive. 

 

"From the grainiest, flickering, sepia TVCs that put a rose in every cheek, right through to the more recent whip smart ads careening around Oxford Circus on London’s double decker buses," says Elton. 

 

"And despite the occasional misstep - like the godforsaken crime of Cadbury x Vegemite chocolate - we forgive these dalliances, because our love for the stuff is effectively the size of the continent.

 

Collectively, it’s a story Australian's happily tell themselves alongside all of the other cultural constructs that help them define what it means to be Australian, says Elton.

"After all, Vegemite is so much more than the schmeer of the blackest black at the end of a silvery butter knife," he says.

 

"At a time when the world is lurching and threatening to fly off the rails, it’s all the more comfort we can collectively take in the only thing blacker than a pint of Guinness.”