By Molly Goddard
8:38am PST, Feb 4, 2025
Carlton and United Breweries CEO Danny Celoni is leaving the company amid a public scandal.
The chief executive of one of Australia's largest beer manufacturer's departure was announced after the business faced extreme backlash over its Great Northern ad campaign.
Join us to see why people down under are calling for a boycott of the brand…
MORE: Follow Wonderwall on MSN for more fun celebrity & entertainment photo galleries and content
The chief executive of one of Australia's largest beer manufacturer's departure was announced after the business faced extreme backlash over its Great Northern ad campaign.
Join us to see why people down under are calling for a boycott of the brand…
MORE: Follow Wonderwall on MSN for more fun celebrity & entertainment photo galleries and content
On Monday, February 3, Asahi — the Japanese conglomerate behind Great Northern — announced Celoni was stepping down after being the head of the company since 2022.
"Danny decided to leave the business late last year, following our decision to reorganize Asahi's Australian and New Zealand business," a spokesperson told Daily Mail. "This was well before the Outdoors for a Cause national parks donation campaign, which we terminated last week.
"Danny is not leaving because of Great Northern's abandoned Outdoors for a Cause campaign," they clarified.
"Danny decided to leave the business late last year, following our decision to reorganize Asahi's Australian and New Zealand business," a spokesperson told Daily Mail. "This was well before the Outdoors for a Cause national parks donation campaign, which we terminated last week.
"Danny is not leaving because of Great Northern's abandoned Outdoors for a Cause campaign," they clarified.
People were outraged by the recent advertisements aimed to raise funds to purchase and protect land to add to national parks in support of the non-profit organization Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife.
According to All Terrain Action Group's Christopher Baker, the crux of the issue is promoting national parks and not state forests.
"State forests provide unique conservation for natural heritage and recreational needs of the community," he explained to the outlet. "Converting state forests to national parks will undermine these tailored efforts and erode the local identity and connection to the land."
According to All Terrain Action Group's Christopher Baker, the crux of the issue is promoting national parks and not state forests.
"State forests provide unique conservation for natural heritage and recreational needs of the community," he explained to the outlet. "Converting state forests to national parks will undermine these tailored efforts and erode the local identity and connection to the land."
In a bold statement by the four-wheel driving Facebook group 4WD TV, they condemned the company's efforts.
"In an absolutely disgraceful move, Great Northern Brewing has gone woke with a campaign to help get us locked out of forests," they wrote in the social media post.
Leonie Blackwell — the administrator of the Facebook page Victorians Against the Great Forest National Park — also spoke out against the ads.
"In an absolutely disgraceful move, Great Northern Brewing has gone woke with a campaign to help get us locked out of forests," they wrote in the social media post.
Leonie Blackwell — the administrator of the Facebook page Victorians Against the Great Forest National Park — also spoke out against the ads.
"It's really disappointing that major companies like that are blindly buying into supporting issues without really understanding the full context of the impact they will have," she noted.
Despite the controversy, Queensland University professor Gary Mortimer claimed there will always be a segment of the public who won't be thrilled with a company using funds to support a political issue.
Despite the controversy, Queensland University professor Gary Mortimer claimed there will always be a segment of the public who won't be thrilled with a company using funds to support a political issue.
"There will always be an alternative group that doesn't support the cause and feel that the money can be allocated elsewhere," the educator told the outlet. "That's what happened here."
"But you can't run four-wheel drives through them, you can't bring dogs into them and camping is more challenging," he added. "So essentially, their target audience, which likes four-wheel drives and dogs, likes to go camping and fishing, were resistant to raising funds for a national park, which is fundamentally not something they would generally use."
"But you can't run four-wheel drives through them, you can't bring dogs into them and camping is more challenging," he added. "So essentially, their target audience, which likes four-wheel drives and dogs, likes to go camping and fishing, were resistant to raising funds for a national park, which is fundamentally not something they would generally use."