Vegemite has welcomed megastar Taylor Swift with a cheeky billboard message as she arrives in Melbourne for the Australian leg of her Eras Tour concerts this month.
The billboard is located en route into the Melbourne CBD from Melbourne airport along the Tullamarine Freeway, greeting Swift with the message, “From one icon to another, welcome to Australia!” and features a friendship bracelet.
Vegemite also said there is a jar ready with Taylor Swift’s name on it if she’s up for trying the iconic Australian spread.
The billboard – which was a collaborative effort from Bega, Thinkerbell, and Starcom – was live from 10 pm on Wednesday, February 14, just in time for Swift’s understated arrival.
Vegemite’s message to the Grammy winner comes after the Australian brand marked its 100-year anniversary last year with a slew of collaborations.
Custom board company Winning Moves and Hasbro launched a limited-edition version of the game that was based on the Australian spread, with Woolworths as the exclusive retailer of the game.
On the board, the 22 property spaces have been replaced by historic iterations of Vegemite jars and packaging, with 6 custom vegemite-themed tokens, including the iconic jar, the modern Squeezy tube, and the fashion-forward cap.
Thinkerbell also worked with Vegemite on a remake its Happy Little Vegemites commercial from the 1950s for it’s 100th birthday.
The new version of the ad featured 71-year-old Trish Cavanagh who starred in the original advertisement as the child marching on top of a jar alongside a cast of new kids from across the country who answered a public casting call for the ad.
Regina Stroombergen, head creative at Thinkbell, called remaking the ad for 2023 a “real honour”.
Matt Gray, Bega Foods’s marketing GM, added: “VEGEMITE has played a key role in this great nation since 1923, and we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate its incredible legacy than by inviting a new generation of Happy Little VEGEMITE’s to be a part of something incredibly special.”