Ahead of a month where many look to cut back on alcohol, Heaps Normal are back telling Australians to "Just Say No To Water". 

The campaign takes inspiration by the anti-drug ads of old with the non-alc brand looking to remind people that there's plenty of choice beyond a glass of water. 

The full media release is below.  

Media Release: Heaps Normal and Donny Benét reunite with a very important PSA on the dangers of water. 

This July, Heaps Normal is back to remind Aussies cutting back or taking a break from alcohol that there is more to life than water, encouraging them to pick up a (non-alcoholic) beer instead. 

Throwing back to the 90s anti-drug and alcohol PSAs with musician Donny Benét, the ‘Just Say No To Water’ campaign features Benét as a chaotic talk show host as he interviews anti-water activists, including musician Lucy Small and drinks aficionado Mike Bennie about the adverse effects of this ‘boring threat’. 

“It’s infiltrating our homes, our workplaces and worst of all our bars,” says Benét. “We must make a stand against dihydrogen monoxide before the boredom takes over, and just say no! If it’s not frothy, delicious and quenching my thirst after a long day, I don't want it. So I'm back again this year to share an important message: Keep yourselves, your families, friends and loved ones, safe from this boring threat.” 

Benét was the face of Heaps Normal’s award-winning 2023 Just Say No To Water campaign. 

The 2024 campaign comes as Aussies continue to ditch the booze, opting for non-alc alternatives, with millennials and Gen Z continuing to account for the biggest proportion of low and no consumers according to IWSR. This cohort continues to lead the way in terms of switching between no/low products and full-strength alcohol on the same occasion.

Euromonitor reported that the ‘sober-curious’ trend has continued to grow in Australia in the last two years, with more consumers turning to mindful moderation. The no-alcohol category is understood to be worth US $13 billion with almost one fifth of all those who consumed no-alcohol drinks in 2023 did so for the first time. 

“We’re here to remind Aussies that they evil bottled water or jugs of the stuff fish poop in on their next night out. Boring drinks are a scourge on society. Enjoy a delicious, frothy beer without the downsides instead,” says Heaps Normal’s CEO and co-founder Andy Miller. 

Heaps Normal Marketing Director Tim Snape says “the brand’s Just Say No to Water 2024 campaign builds on the success of last year’s campaign by bringing Benét back to interview some of Heaps Normal’s friends, and lending his profile to a series of PSA-style parodies. 

Donny is the ultimate anti-water activist, bringing the kind of elevated style and celebrity hitting power our small business needs to lend weight to this important message about the dangers of water, a liquid that destroys taste buds and lives across the world with its bland nothingness. We’re more than happy to front this fight.“ 

Just Say No to Water was produced by Heaps Normal’s internal Marketing and Creative teams and brought to life by production agency Yeah Rad.