Australian Avocados tells shoppers to stop squeezing the middle

Australian Avocados is urging shoppers to stop squeezing avocados in the middle as part of a new education campaign from Thinkerbell.

The campaign asks consumers, “Are you bruisin while choosin’?”, after research found 55% of Australians admit to squeezing avocados the wrong way at the supermarket when checking for ripeness.

The behaviour is contributing to bruised fruit at scale, prompting Australian Avocados and Hort Innovation to push a simpler message: “The Neck’s Where to Check.”

The integrated campaign spans social, activation and earned media, with Australian strongman Eddie Williams enlisted to perform a song teaching shoppers how to check avocados correctly.

Williams also appears in street content testing Australians with the “Ahhhvocado”, a mechanical Hass avocado replica that yells in pain when squeezed in the middle. The activation is designed to encourage shoppers to check ripeness gently at the neck instead.

“While Australians love their avocados, the over-enthusiastic squeezing is creating a silent epidemic of bruised fruit. Through this long-term educational push, we’re hoping to fundamentally shift how we shop. By teaching people to stop squeezing the middle of the fruit and check the neck, we’re protecting the produce, supporting our growers and ensuring everyone can enjoy the delicious avocado they deserve,” said Victoria Zourkas, marketing manager of Hort Innovation.

The work forms part of Australian Avocados’ Avo-Can-Do brand platform and is rolling out across paid, owned and earned channels.

“If avocados could talk, we would handle them more carefully. There’s no one better to put the Ahhhvocado to the test than the strongman, Eddie Williams, to lead our new educational platform,” said Zac Goldberg, head tinker at Thinkerbell.