FYI | Apr 12 2006
You can just picture it: Hoges and Strop sitting together in a bar in Byron Bay with tears quietly rolling down their faces. Their beverage of parochial choice, their mother’s milk, their raison d’etre, has been sold off in Europe.
It’s been many years since Hoges and Strop shared a little house with a fridge stocked exclusively with Foster’s beer (and nothing else). Back in the seventies, Foster’s was one of Australia’s favourite brews.
Nowadays things are a lot different. For one, nobody drinks Foster’s in Australia (hardly). Since the rationalisation and nationalisation of Australian beer, brands such as CUB’s VB and Carlton Draught and Toohey’s New have shuffled Foster’s aside as an anachronistic reminder of the now diluted image of the Australian yobbo. We have also diversified our tastes, leading to the success of smaller labels such as Coopers, Boags, Cascade and Hahn.
While Australia turned its back on the iconic blue can, the rest of the world lapped it up. Suddenly, some twenty years ago, the Poms discovered an astounding concept called cold beer. Bazza McKenzie can probably take a bow. Since then the previously ubiquitous pint of tepid, murky ale has been all but swamped by sales of tap lager, and Foster’s has been a big part of that.
Over in the States, when Hoges turned Australia into a popular curiosity by wrestling crocodiles, the Americans thought it was a hoot to go to a ball game and drink enormous vessels of Foster’s known as "oil cans". Apart from anything else, Foster’s was about 50% more alcoholic than the local stuff Americans laughingly call beer. Budweiser Lite? Spare me.
The result of this global popularity was that any time an Aussie travelled abroad, at least to western nations, the locals immediately assumed we would be gagging for a Foster’s, and how clever they were to be able to provide it. It was always a treat to see their faces when one asked politely for a Stella, Heineken, Moosehead or even Guinness instead. Whaddya mean you don’t drink Foster’s?
Now the Foster’s Group (FGL) has decided to sell off its brand in Europe. Is this un-Australian? (I only use this expression as it now seems apparently un-Australian not to use the expression un-Australian).
From a commercial point of view – definitely not. Australia has been happy to be part of the new globalised community and that means nothing is sacred if there’s a quid in it. Moreover, Foster’s achieved a sales price that astounded analysts. Foster’s was also making a mere pittance form the label in Europe, despite its remarkable success. This was a result of contracts negotiated when the company was deep in debt and fighting for its life.
Another problem Foster’s endured was its obligation to promote the brand through sponsorship within that great money sink known as the Formula One Grand Prix.
So with a great sale price secured, do Australians really care if the blue can disappears into the hands of a bunch of whiskey-guzzling Scots? Nah – we gave Foster’s beer away years ago.
Sorry Hoges.