Solo Squash
Solo is a popular name for characters such as Hans Solo in Star Wars to local Council collecton trucks emblazoned with the name Solo Resourc Recovery. But in this story called Hard Solo the name is from the expression “time for a Solo” a phrase commonly associated with a lemon flavoured soda drink The drinks flavour was inspired by Australian pubs’ traditional and popular non alcoholic ‘pub squash’ beverage. Solo spelled SOLO is a drink. A carbonated variant of a lemon squash and as popular today as it was when it was first released in 1968 because of the genius “Solo Man” marketing campaign, featuring numerous fit looking Australian males working up a sweat doing physical activities associated with amazing outdoor feats then quenching their thirst with a Solo. The original SOLO has been crushing the thirst of Aussies since 1973
Solo Man
There are some Aussie icons that are best not messed with, and Solo Man is one of them. This quniessential Aussie male could wrestle you to the ground with his chest hair alone. If you grew up in Australian in the 1970’s only “real men” dared to drink a non alcoholic beverage to quanche their thirst and SOLO was the perfect drink. Silly me I thought Aussie men only drank beer! With a history of almost 50 years, the Solo Man brilliant marketing campaign shows Australian men doing adventurous and extreme sports in order to ‘earn’ the drink.
There are many iconic Solo Man TV moments but the ones that I recall were kyacking off a cliff, rafting down rapids to running up a hill. These physical feats were impressive to a 13 year old. In 1973 I wasn’t fit enough to run up hills with my dog or brave enough to jump off a high diving board let alone kyack off a cliff. However, I was old enough to drink a Solo. Nothing beats a ice cold lemon drink after a long hot day on the Hume Highway crammed in the backseat of a Holden stationwagon with four siblings fighting for the window seats and elbow room.
Personally I think the solo ad got me thirstier for adventure than the actual solo drink but whatever, there are many thirsts in life that need to be satiated. SOLO hit the spot!
Aussie Men
Lets get real. The Solo Man” personifies all the best qualities of Aussie Men. While it’s important to note that individuals can vary greatly, qualities often associated with Australian men are resilience and toughness. Yes, Australians are known for their love of the outdoors and adventurous spirit thanks to the likes of Steve Urwin. Yes I can see the Solo Man appeal and the opportunity to sell lemon squash.
Solo Thirst Crusher
We all know that SOLO was never a sports drink but more a reward for the effort. At the end of every exhausting adventure the Solo Man would crack open a can of Solo and guzzle a can of SOLO (without gagging) to replenish his energy. It took mere seconds for the Solo man to empty the can and then actually crushed the can. At least thats what I saw.. Tag lines “The thirst crusher” and “Light on the fizz, so you can slam it down fast”became a famous catchphrase.
Go Hard Go Solo
The new age Hard Solo is for the Tough Mudders. “Go hard” is now a reference to the alcohlic content 4.5% . So does the Hard Solo drink deliver more and does it taste good? Hard to say if its the black can, alcohol content or low fizz seltzer is a winning combination yet. The new Hard Solo flavour has zero appeal to me. However because I have come into possession of a bounty of cans left in an esky I am prepared with ice to work some cocktail magic and mix a resfreshing Hard Solo Seltzer cocktail!
So I want to drink a Hard Solo to celebrating Australia Day. The sun is out, the umberella is up, we have glasses, ice, simple syrups galore and the Hard Solo. It goes without saying we have worked up a hard earned thirst. Cheers to cleaning out the esky, public holidays and mates to share a drink with!
Whats Next? Watch our Hard Solo Seltzer video.