Seen on Manly Beach in Sydney (also St Kilda Beach if you live in Melbourne) was a bunch of crates that appeared to be contraband. The set-up was perfect – police, police tape, warning signs…

…but it was a brand stunt for Sodaly (one of local company, Remedy’s drinks brands) by Melbourne indie, Taboo.

The idea behind the stunt and its broader campaign, Get Sodaly Addicted, is that “when something tastes indulgent but doesn’t come with the usual sugar hit, it doesn’t feel virtuous. It feels suspiciously good.”

The full campaign included duffle bags marked “Warning: Addictive Substance” dropped to influencers nationwide and campaign ambassadors including Dom Littrich, Miss Double Bay, Luisa Dal Din, and Dylan Buckley recruited as cultural “dealers”, amplifying the narrative across social and live appearances.

Sodaly cans hanging over a wire indicate cafes who are ‘dealing’. Murals, OOH, online and social placements carry messages such as “Get Hooked on the Good Stuff”, “Better than Coke”, “All the Fizz. None of the Shizz”, and “Sodaly Dealers Operate in This Area”. Tram wraps call travellers to “Take a trip” with “Flavour that’s off the rails”. Street teams are sampling under the mantra “Get Your First Hit Free”. In socials, the ‘hooked’ are called to post their daily Sodaly streak in order to be added to the private group, Sodaly Addicts Anonymous, to score free merch and go in-the-running to win a lifetime supply.

The campaign, running across Australia and New Zealand until March, aims to give the brand a lot of noise to increase brand awareness outside its existing collection of loyal drinkers.