Independent campaign and media agency Campaignifi has taken the Stop the Ambition Tax campaign to new heights, quite literally, with skywriting and aerial messaging appearing over Canberra, the Brisbane CBD, the Gold Coast foreshore and the Treasurer’s electorate of Rankin from 11:00AM AEST today.
The message, ‘STOP TAXING AMBITION’, was written over Federation Mall in Canberra as campaign founder and It’s Simple Finance CEO Joseph Daoud prepared to take on the Prime Minister in a tennis match at The Lodge, the culmination of a campaign that has grown from a single billboard into a national movement.
The aerial activation follows Campaignifi’s Canberra Airport out-of-home takeover for the campaign, which greeted federal politicians and staffers on their return to Parliament and generated significant national media coverage. The skywriting marks the next phase of the campaign, which launches nationwide this week in response to the Albanese Government’s capital gains tax changes in the 2026 Budget.
Best viewing locations were Federation Mall in Canberra and Mt Coot-tha Lookout in Brisbane, with the campaign encouraging Australians to share their photos using #StopTaxingAmbition.
Campaignifi founder and managing director Patrick Blacker said the stunt was born the way a lot of the best ideas are: over a beer, with mates.
“Joseph messaged me while he was at his mum’s place eating some of his favourite chicken shawarma, asking what we had up our sleeve for the final week of the campaign,” Blacker said.
“At the time I was at the pub, The Angel on Pitt Street in Sydney, with our good friends and collaborators at parallaxm, Tim Skippington and Jimmy Paton. I read the message out, and Skip looked up and asked ‘is skywriting still a thing?’ The rest is history.
“We’d already taken over Canberra Airport, so the only way left to go was up. Joe was in before he’d finished his shawarma.
“This campaign has always been about ambition, and there’s something fitting about a message to the Treasurer that you can’t miss, can’t scroll past and can’t take down. It’s a reminder that the founders and everyday Australians behind this campaign aren’t going anywhere.”
Stop the Ambition Tax (also known as Stop the Founders Tax) was launched by It’s Simple Finance founder Joseph Daoud in response to the capital gains tax changes announced in the 2026 Federal Budget and since legislated. The campaign’s petition and public expressions of interest to join the tennis match at The Lodge have reached into the thousands.
Credits:
Campaignifi
Senior Producer – Patrick Blacker
Account Director – Jethro Do Paco
Creative – Mitch Kara
Canberra Skywriting – Skywriting Australia
Brisbane Aerial Banner – Sky Ads
It’s Simple Finance / Stop the Ambition Tax
Founder: Joseph Daoud
Coordinator: Dana O’Neill
