Kraft named Vegemite's new spread 'iSnack 2.0' — a country rejected it in five days

In 2009 Kraft Foods, owner of the iconic Australian spread Vegemite, prepared to launch a new product: Vegemite blended with cream cheese. The company ran a national naming competition that drew 48,000 entries, but the winning name was chosen not by the public but by a panel of marketing and communications experts, who wanted something that appealed to a younger market and echoed the popularity of Apple's iPod and iPhone. On 26 September 2009, during the broadcast of the AFL grand final — the biggest advertising moment of the Australian year — the name was unveiled: iSnack 2.0.

The response was immediate and universal. The Guardian described 'a spectacularly negative response across Australia'; within days, opinion columns and social networking sites were flooded with derision. Australians mocked a name that sounded like an Apple accessory for a spread that had been a pantry staple for 86 years. Marketing observers split between calling it a cynical PR stunt and a genuine misjudgement: one industry figure said the interest 'couldn't have been bought' as advertising — but noted it was either a very clever ploy or 'a very stupid decision'.

Kraft's retreat was so fast it confirmed the failure. On 1 October 2009 — five days after the unveiling — the company abandoned the name and announced a new vote across Australia and New Zealand. The reversal carried physical costs: around half a million jars had already been printed with the iSnack 2.0 label. Corporate affairs head Simon Talbot denied the original naming was a stunt — 'we are not so bloody-minded as to proceed with a name that people don't like' — while conceding that iSnack 2.0 was, in his own words, 'a donkey'.

The replacement was chosen by the people the first one had ignored. More than 30,000 people voted in the online and telephone poll, and on 7 October 2009 Kraft announced the new name: Vegemite Cheesybite, which took 36% of the vote ahead of Creamymate, Smooth, Snackmate, Vegemate and Vegemild. Cheesybite jars began replacing iSnack 2.0 stock in the following months. The product itself survived — it is still sold today, renamed Vegemite & Cheese under Bega's ownership — but the launch moment Kraft had paid for was spent defending a name nobody had asked for.