“Aussies Wary Of Large Corporations (And Why We’re The World’s Biggest Internet Pirates)”

“Aussies Wary Of Large Corporations (And Why We’re The World’s Biggest Internet Pirates)”
John Bastick
By John Bastick



Australians have a natural suspicion of large corporations and that means we’re less inclined to jump on board large global brands as quick as other countries, says LOUD’s executive creative director Steven Thomson.

Thomson (pictured below) has been the ECD at the North Sydney-based agency for the past 12 months following a seven-year stint in the US and told B&T that from that experience he believed “Australians have a much greater corporate wariness”.

AAEAAQAAAAAAAAJ3AAAAJGEwMDBjNDg5LTdjNWEtNGQ2Ny1hNzcwLTIzNDg0OTk2OWVhOA

He believes the suspicions arise from a view – founded or otherwise – that we’re paying more than we should for overseas brands and their products.

“I think when it comes to global corporates, I don’t think Australians are happy that we have to pay more for Apple products than we do anywhere else in the world, we pay more for IKEA than anywhere else in the world, we pay more for song downloads, more for movies downloads, and more for cinema tickets,” he argued.

“And because of that we’re some of the slowest on the uptake of those global brands and we’re the second highest for piracy in the world (it’s debated whether we’re number one or two – B&T). And why is that? Because we feel we’re getting ripped off.”

However, Thomson’s counter to the argument is, that unlike our American counterparts, we simply don’t like paying for stuff; particularly stuff we deem we should be getting for nix in the first place.

“Australians feel they have this sort of unalienable social right that they should have free to air TV, that they shouldn’t have to pay to watch sport,” he said.

“Take the Ashes that are coming up, I think most Australians would be very unhappy that they had to pay to watch it.”




Latest News

Sydney Comedy Festival: Taking The City & Social Media By Storm
  • Media

Sydney Comedy Festival: Taking The City & Social Media By Storm

Sydney Comedy Festival 2024 is live and ready to rumble, showing the best of international and homegrown talent at a host of venues around town. As usual, it’s hot on the heels of its big sister, the giant that is the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, picking up some acts as they continue on their own […]

Global Marketers Descend For AANA’s RESET For Growth
  • Advertising

Global Marketers Descend For AANA’s RESET For Growth

The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) has announced the final epic lineup of local and global marketing powerhouses for RESET for Growth 2024. Lead image: Josh Faulks, chief executive officer, AANA  Back in 2000, a woman with no business experience opened her first juice bar in Adelaide. The idea was brilliantly simple: make healthy […]