VEGEMITE - This could be the most important historical post ever on Steemit! (it's a bit long but stick with it)

G'day. So today I was reading the latest @choogirl post about the new @teamaustralia members. Great to have them on board!

Anyway, so somewhere the subject of Vegemite popped up in the conversation!
Well, we all know that's about the most controversial subject you can raise with any Aussie (other than Religion, Politics, Holdens, Fords, AFL, NRL.....etc)

Well, this is a really BIG thing with me! One of the most important Aussie innovations hijacked by the Yanks!
During all that time, they somehow tried to convince us that they were doing the right thing by Australia?
Seriously, it was the biggest Con Job of all time!

I feel so strongly about this that I've dedicated a spot on my bar to Vegemite.

So lets go back and have a look at the history of Vegemite and how it all came about.

Every single person who is still alive in Australia today was brought up with Vegemite.

Back at the turn of the century, we all used to be into Marmite. This was the Pommy national spread but was actually invented by the Germans. Justus Von Liebig worked out he could take the left over yeast from the beer breweries and turn it into a food product. The Pommies jumped onto it in the early 1900's and turned it into a huge iconic food spread that was famous around the world - Marmite.

Ironically, during World War 1, it was the Germans that shut down the worldwide distribution of Marmite with their U-Boats attacking merchant ships.
So when the Aussies ran out of Marmite they decided to come up with their own version (bloody bootleggers).
A really smart Entrepreneur called Fred Walker got his people to make a copy in the Lab. It took a while but they eventually came up with a version that everybody liked.

Now this is where the first problems started (and remember this for later in the story).
Some "expert" marketing Guru decided they should have an Australia wide "naming" competition for the product.
They got heaps of entries and the winner was drawn out of a hat - the winning name was "Vegemite" and the winner got 50 pounds, which was a lot of cash back then!

The second problem was not too far away. By the time they got through all this Bullshit, the war ended and Marmite was back on the shelves.
Sales dropped off and once again some "marketing expert" decided to change the name to "Parwill" - WTF??? Obviously, sales bombed even further.

(This is one of the few images I could find from the old days)

So just when Vegemite seems completely rooted, another big twist happens. The Pommy scientists worked out that it was one of the most nutritious products ever invented. World War 2 saw Vegemite included in all Soldiers ration packs.
They even had an advertising campaign “Vegemite: Keeping fighting men fighting fit.”

After the war, Vegemite went from strength to strength. Even Doctors recommended that it should be part of a normal balanced diet - especially for children. (Most Doctors today don't recommend it - probably because there's no money in it for them!)

OK, just when it's all looking good, this is where the next BIG ..... moment occurs!
It turns out that the original owner, Fred Walker collaborated with James L. Kraft to establish Kraft Walker Cheese Co. around the same time Vegemite was invented. So Vegemite was originally American owned. (Unbeknown to most people)

But then, Vegemite was officially sold to Kraft in 1935 (which ended up changing their name to Mondelez). Somehow, everybody still thought it was an Aussie owned product.

Once again, the Marketing gurus get involved, however this time it was a huge success!
There is nobody on this planet that hasn't seen or heard the "Happy Little Vegemites" adverts.
Part of Aussie history and culture! Remember singing this?

So that was the history and through all those decades and everybody loved Vegemite and thought it was an iconic Aussie product - which it was, but it was foreign owned.

Here's one claim to fame - it was the first ever product barcode scanned in a Woollies Supermarket in 1984.

Righto - so far we've worked out that the overall rise to fame of Vegemite has been driven by the quality of the product and the market's acceptance of it.
(So let's see if anybody can completely fuck it up?)

Enter the Yanks and their "new age marketing companies".
We need to appeal to the younger generation - we need to make it trendy again - let's do something new!

I've got a really good idea - let's stick some in the cheese and see how that goes? (fuck we already own the cheese factory!)
Whoohoo - we're on a roll.
(I must admit, sticking Vegemite in Kraft single cheese slices was ok .... just ok!)

Then came the reverse..............................
Let's stick some cheese in the actual Vegemite (how many marketing idiots can you fit in one room?)
While we're at it, lets start a big "renaming competition just like they did back in 1923".

Genius moment - turn it into a huge marketing campaign and flood the retail stores - yeehah!!

Because it was a competition and there were big bucks and recognition at stake, heaps of people got involved.
The winning name ended up being "iSnack 2.0"

How the fuck could anybody in their right mind think that this was ok???

Anyway, it failed so they went back to the other entries and picked another one.
(Did you know that unopened jars of iSnack 2.0 are selling on ebay as collectors items?)

Here's a copy of what the Company had to say at the time:
Kraft Foods Australia/New Zealand has today announced that it will change the name of the new Vegemite.

Since the new Vegemite hit supermarket shelves in July 2009, Australians and New Zealanders have been invited to come up with a name for the new product; just as Australians did when Vegemite was first launched in this country in 1923.

More than 48,000 name suggestions were received, and from this one name was chosen – Vegemite iSnack2.0.

Since the announcement of the new Vegemite name at the AFL Grand Final, Kraft Foods has heard consumers’ like the taste; they just don’t like the name.

Kraft Foods Australia/New Zealand Head of Corporate Affairs, Simon Talbot, said: “We have been overwhelmed by the passion for Vegemite and the new product. The new name has simply not resonated with Australians. Particularly the modern technical aspects associated with it.

“At no point in time has the new Vegemite name been about initiating a media publicity stunt. We are proud custodians of Vegemite, and have always been aware that it is the people’s brand and a national icon.

“Our Kraft Foods storeroom currently has thousands of jars of the iSnack2.0 named Vegemite. This product will be distributed around Australia, and will continue to be sold in supermarkets for months to come – until Australia decides upon a new name.”

This new version is now used as an entry level for inexperienced people like @steemulator (sorry mate - nothing personal but you know where I'm coming from...LoL)

And don't even get me started on the idea to rename normal Vegemite to "Australia"? (which the idiots also did)

Every time I look at my Bar, I reflect on how we Aussies need to think about our heritage and protect our history!
(I might even do some separate articles on my bar - there's a few good stories on there)

Just when it looks like there's no hope, Bega buys back "Vegemite" and it's Aussie owned again!!!

Bega, you need to listen to what ordinary Aussies are saying!

On behalf of All Aussies, I'd just like to say......................................................

'Don't Fuck with Vegemite any more!" Vegemite is Vegemite............leave it alone!