Alcoholic Drink ‘Hard Solo’ Renamed to ‘Hard Rated’ After Finding It Appealed to Minors

Alcoholic beverage Hard Solo and soft drink Solo. Courtesy of Asahi Beverages

Australian alcoholic beverage Hard Solo has been forced to rebrand itself to Hard Rated after the marketing regulator found that the drink had a strong appeal to teens.

Hard Solo is the new version of the popular lemon-flavoured soft drink Solo with an alcoholic twist of vodka.

Parents have complained that youngsters could easily confuse the alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions due to their similar packaging. While Hard Solo comes in black packaging with yellow accents, the original beverage has yellow packaging with black accents.

There was also criticism that the name Hard Solo sounded too similar to Han Solo, a character from Star Wars.

The Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code Scheme (ABAC) said it had received 10 complaints about the product, asserting that the name Hard Solo had breached the alcohol marketing code by having a “strong or evident appeal to minors.”

ABAC panel chair Professor Michael Lavarch ruled that Hard Solo “created an illusion of being a smooth transition from a non-alcoholic to an alcoholic product due to this familiarity and relatability of Solo to minors.”

“The ABAC Scheme does not go to physical characteristics of an alcohol beverage such as colour, viscosity, alcohol content, or taste,” the panel stated on Nov. 8.

“The Panel’s role is to assess if the branding and marketing materials of an alcohol product are consistent with the standards contained in the ABAC Code.”

Fears Over Uptick In Drinking Among Youth

According to the final ruling document, one parent said that their son asked them to purchase this drink “as he loves Solo not knowing that it was.”

Another person said, “My kids drink Solo and now you want them to drink a booze-filled version? What’s next? ‘Hard’ Mount Franklin? This should be stopped.”

One parent expressed that the alcoholic version of a popular soft drink is “very dangerous and will exacerbate the current teen drinking problem we have in Australia” while another alleged that the product was “marketed to kids.”

Solo’s Parent Company Accepted the Decision

Following intense scrutiny, Melbourne-based Carlton and United Breweries (CUB), which is owned by Japanese conglomerate Asahi, announced on Nov. 16 that it would comply with the decision although it was “disappointed by the outcome.”

“As we comply with the ABAC decision and the Hard Solo brand exits the market, we’d like to assure the many Australian adults who have loved Hard Solo that the taste won’t change when the name changes to Hard Rated,” a CUB spokesperson said in a statement.

The brewer noted that the last Hard Solo can packaging will exit its supply network by no later than Feb. 9, 2024, consistent with ABAC rules.

“Additionally, Hard Solo tap decals in pubs and clubs will also have transitioned to Hard Rated by that date.”

‘Blaming The Wrong People’

However, the rebranding of the alcoholic beverage has sparked debates on social media, with one X (formally Twitter) user arguing, “So you’re saying if I don’t like anything for any reason all I have to do is make 10 complaints and I can tell a corporation what to do?”

“Liberal democracy is when you can tell the government the stupidest thing imaginable but if enough people do it they have to take it seriously,” an X user said.

One person wrote, “It’s sold in bottle shops, it really shouldn’t be that hard for kids to not get access to it. I think we’re blaming the wrong people here.”

The iconic lemon tang brand Solo, a widely consumed soft drink in Australia, has become a staple in supermarkets alongside Coke and Sprite.

Around 60 million litres of Solo are consumed each year and the product is in 1.7 million Australian households, according to industry reports.