Gen Z can now (try) and party like it’s 1994 with the launch of iconic alcopop that remains stained on the brains, and bedroom walls, of Gen Xers across Australia
It was 1994 and the despondent kids of the Grunge era finally had something to make them smile.
It came in the form of a shiny, clear bottle of hope, one that would be transformed into a nightclub staple for years to come.
What happened to the Sub Zero remains somewhat of a mystery to those who threw them away until the wee hours of the morning.
Last week, jaded boomers who wandered into the bottle shop for a nice bottle of single malt might have done a double-take as they stared at a familiar logo from a bygone era.
Exactly 30 years since Sub Zero launched in 1994, Carlton & United Breweries has revived its iconic brand in the form of Australia’s first sugar-free cola and vodka.
Now in a can, those whose best years of their lives were raised with it will immediately remember the brand.
Icy cold, crystal clear and often handed a bar in a bucket, the original Sub Zero existed in Australia before the Bacardi Breezer.
Sure, the Breezer already existed in other countries, but in the 1990s Australians were still waiting years for what people in the United States considered old-fashioned.
The Good Old Days: Gone, but not entirely forgotten. Sub Zero as it looked in the 1990s.
Frost Bites was a classic Melbourne venue in the 1990s when Sub Zero was the drink of choice for many
With a touch of raspberry (or if you really wanted trouble, Midori), the Sub Zero changed the nightclub scene across the country.
The fact that it had nowhere near zero sugar wasn’t even calculated.
Sub Zero in 1994 meant more to people familiar with 1987’s Arnold Schwarzenegger bloodfest The Running Man.
In that film, Sub Zero was a murderous villain who turned his opponents into ‘shivering bloody sushi’ with a razor-sharp hockey stick.
As Arnold sent him away, he joked, “Here’s Sub Zero.” Now clearly zero.”
It wasn’t one of the action star’s best one-liners, but it was rolled out every time someone handed you a Sub Zero, whether it was obvious or not.
Sub Zero has made a comeback for a new generation
Sub Zero has become black and white for a new generation
Unlike the citrus-based original, the new Sub Zero blends the familiar taste of sugar-free cola with five times distilled vodka.
The gurus at CuB think this is exactly the mix that today’s target group is looking for.
“Sub Zero is aimed at today’s Gen Z – those looking for an easy-drinking RTD without sugar and with a tart attitude – but it will also attract nostalgic Subbie fans,” said Sub Zero marketing manager Ben Haysman.
It’s a blurb that Gen Xers will think came straight out of an episode of The Simpsons from the ’90s (which is still the show’s best era).
The new Sub Zero’s advertising campaign thanks older generations for… ‘zero’.
“Thanks for raising my rent. Again,” screams one poster.
“Thank you for the noise complaints,” reads another.
Yes, when the original was consumed, things were loud, those done wrong sucked it in and gangsters were still cool and deadly.
Gangster Alphonse Gangitano terrorized Melbourne in the 1990s before being murdered in the Underbelly War
Vince Colosimo smashes the Sports Bar in a scene from the original and best Underbelly. He played Alphonse Gangitano
The real Jason Moran had helped cause a massacre at the Sport Bar. He was murdered during the Underbelly War in Melbourne
In 1995, after likely consuming a few Sub Zero and Midoris, Alphonse Gangitano, Jason Moran and associate Tony Rapasarda were charged with seriously assaulting several patrons at the Sports Bar nightclub on King Street.
It was a scene and an era made famous years later in the original and best Underbelly series.
In Melbourne, what Gen Xer could forget taking down a ‘subbie’ at the Cadillac Bar, the Chevron, Metro or The Tunnel?
Those were the days.
Long gone, and no thanks to Sub Zero, not completely forgotten.
Gen Zers should have a crack.
The new Sub Zero contains 4.5 percent alcohol and comes in four packs of 375ml cans.
It will also be available on tap in pubs and clubs across the country.