emojis and more.” The randomly selected winner will go into the running to have their rent or mortgage paid off for a year, up to the value of $75,000. While anyone over the age of 18 is technically eligible, provided they can successfully complete the questionnaire, the competition is hosted on the website boomerblocker.com, and seems to discourage older Australians from applying. “At a time when premium furniture options were usually reserved for Boomers and their big wallets, everyone is feeling the cost of living crunch and these struggles extend beyond the bedroom,” Koala’s chief commercial officer Rory Costello said in a press release announcing the competition. “We wanted to give Millennials, Gen Z’ers and everyone in-between the opportunity to have their rent or mortgage paid for an entire year, so they can use their cash for other luxuries that boomers enjoy daily. Unfortunately, boomers will have a hard time cracking the boomer blocker, but we encourage all boomers to give it a go.” The campaign has predictably been divisive, with some describing it as being “well constructed and executed” – capturing the frustration around the barriers to homeownership that younger generations face, while others have argued that it perpetuates harmful narratives around ageism. Although anyone is eligible to win, the goal of deterring older people from competing for a chance to win rent or mortgage alleviation is contentious, with a growing number of older Australians at risk of homelessness and insecure housing. According to the 2016 Census, the number of women over 55 years old experiencing homelessness increased by 31 per cent compared to 2011 – making it the fastest growing demographic experiencing homelessness in Australia.  Further, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, older people who are renting face an increased risk of homelessness. The polarised response is visible through how the campaign has been received on different social media platforms. On Instagram, the campaign has mostly been received positively in the comments section. However, a post promoting the quiz on Facebook, which has an older user base, was deleted following backlash.  (Thinkerbell has not provided comments on why the Facebook post was deleted). Tip of the cap to young Australians Adam Ferrier, Thinkerbell founder and consumer psychologist, told Inside Retail that Koala has always operated on a business model of making better quality furniture at affordable prices. As such, the brand wanted to design a promotional campaign that shared this message in a “fun and cheeky” manner. He said that there has long been a spirited debate around whether Baby Boomers have it easier than Gen X, Y and Z – with increasing evidence that this is the case. He pointed to data shared by social research company McCrindle, which showed that more than 50 per cent of Australia’s wealth is held by 25 per cent of the population, much of which is tied up in property. As a consequence, Thinkerbell, together with Koala, came up with the nationwide “live like a boomer” campaign to help Australians “enjoy the good life again, buy furniture, and maybe spend some extra change on the nicer steak at the butcher.” Ferrier added that the quiz is “fairly easy to correctly pass” – with infinite options to try again – but noted that it was designed to “perhaps trip up those who are more likely to already have a few properties in the portfolio.” “The reception has been really positive. It’s a generous offer, up to $75,000 in rental or mortgage assistance at a time when many could use the support. Many Australians are aware of the cultural debate and enjoy the jest of the initiative,” Ferrier said.   “We can’t talk exact figures right now [but] thousands of Australians have applied via the campaign website.” He also observed that the cultural debate between different generations is massive, with the campaign leaning into the fact that many young people feel that homeownership is becoming an impossible dream. He supported this with recent Roy Morgan research, which showed that Australians aged over 65 years amassed $160 billion in savings over the pandemic. Meanwhile, he said that younger Australians “have had to tread water.” “Many of the young Australians who have engaged with this initiative appreciate the tone and approach. It underscores how many in Australia as a whole feel about home ownership and financial empowerment in the current economic landscape. It’s a tongue-in-cheek tip of the cap to young Australians,” Ferrier said. “Playing on this has definitely helped generate attention given the debate is already firing. But that’s the reality of looking to drive earned media and attention for a company, you’ve got to go for the stuff that’s big in culture and has some tension in it. “It’s definitely got the brand noticed and, as far as we can tell from the general sentiment, it’s landing the point we want to make.”  Failed housing system Although he stressed that the campaign isn’t seeking to alienate anyone, Ferrier noted that one of the objectives of the initiative was to jump into a contentious social issue and generate conversations around Koala. This, he said, has been achieved. “This is absolutely a generational love-letter to Australia’s youth, who deserve a fair shake,” Ferrier said. “We’re not looking for backlash but everyone has an opinion and we knew we were entering a live cultural debate, so a balanced discussion was always the plan.  “[We also] recognise some Baby Boomers may feel a little slighted, but we definitely welcome their application if they can beat the questionnaire.” However, Fiona York, executive officer at Housing of the Aged action group, told Inside Retail that it’s not just younger generations who are impacted by Australia’s housing crisis.  Rather, she said that hundreds of thousands of older Australians are also struggling with insecure housing as they age. “Framing the crisis as a battle between generations overlooks more than 220,000 over 55s on low incomes [who are] struggling to afford rent, and the 300,000 people over 55 on low incomes who have a mortgage,” York said. She believes that Koala’s campaign plays into the narrative that the housing crisis is a battle of the generations, and taps into the perception that older people are all well off. But, York said that the system has failed plenty of older people who are dealing with housing insecurity as they age. “It’s really about the haves and have nots. Many older people struggle to get help before they are evicted or lose their home. And that’s because support services are often not designed with older people in mind,” York said. “Many older people, especially older women, lose their jobs in their late 50s and early 60s, and struggle to find work. If they are renting or paying off a mortgage, they may be at real risk of homelessness.” She added that the marketing campaign is ultimately about selling more mattresses and grabbing public attention.  However, in doing so, it overlooks the plight of older Australians struggling with housing, like many before them. “We’d just ask people to pause and think about the many older people who are also struggling with housing,” York said. “The 30-something locked out of the housing market and the pensioner struggling to pay rent have a lot in common. They are both victims of decades of failed housing policy,” York said. Sense of belonging Meanwhile, Edith Cowan University lecturer Alex Best said that he personally liked the campaign, with the questions potentially evoking a sense of belonging toward Koala among a younger demographic. He contended that the narrative of the war between generations is an effective tool to drive differentiation in a competitive marketplace. “Naturally there is [the] risk that this campaign could alienate older audiences, however, an audience swayed by such messaging likely lacks strong brand affinity,” Best said.  He added that there’s a chance that the campaign gains further momentum through a negative response, which would further enhance Koala’s brand recognition. “In terms of effectiveness, it is an interesting way to promote equity. [I think the campaign is well constructed and designed [but] I have some positive bias toward the campaign in that I fit within the XYZ demographic,” he said. According to Ferrier, a key takeaway from the campaign has been that it has resonated with Australians – due to the number of applications that it has received. “Between the $200-$300 weekly grocery shop and rent or mortgage payments, it’s pretty hellish for ordinary Australians at the moment. Initiatives like this can help alleviate that burden a bit,” he said.