Suntory BOSS Coffee calls out ‘milkshake’ iced coffee rivals in new ANZ push

Suntory BOSS Coffee is taking aim at the iced coffee category with a new campaign for its newly launched Café range.

Created with It’s Friday, the campaign is built around the platform “Less Milkshake. More Real Coffee.” and positions the new range as a lighter, more coffee-led alternative to what the brand describes as “milkshake style” competitors.

The push is designed to drive switching among habitual iced coffee drinkers by reframing expectations of the category and challenging whether consumers are drinking real iced coffee or a milkshake in disguise.

At the centre of the campaign is the “Is it a Milkshake? Helpline”, which invites workers to call in and question what they are drinking.

Suntory BOSS Coffee Café uses the brand’s signature Japanese brewed-hot, chilled-fast technology and has been developed in response to consumer demand for a lighter, more refreshing café-style coffee experience.

“We saw an opportunity to call out where the category has drifted,” Morgan Loveridge, head of Suntory BOSS Coffee and future brands, Suntory Beverage & Food Oceania, said.

“The campaign marks a deliberate move to reset expectations in the category. There’s a growing disconnect between what iced coffee has become and what many people want from it. New Suntory BOSS Coffee Café brings the focus back to real coffee, a more balanced, refreshing experience and this campaign is about making that difference unmistakable.”

Vince Lagana, CCO at It’s Friday, said the campaign plays on the confusion around what iced coffee has become.

"Workers have grown up on iced coffee that’s basically a milkshake in disguise, so it’s no surprise there’s confusion around what real coffee is. The new Suntory BOSS Coffee Café is built on a simple idea: Less milkshake, more real coffee.

"As part of the campaign, we created the ‘Is it a Milkshake? Helpline’, part public service, part reality check, helping workers call it out and switch to real coffee,” Lagana said.

The campaign will roll out across ANZ via video, out-of-home, retail and social.