Last weekend, Mountain Dew announced an online naming contest for its new apple flavour. As if on cue, Internet pranksters hijacked the contest, not only stuffing the virtual ballot box, but also defacing the contest website.

Australians visit fast food chains like McDonald’s and Subway four times a month on average. The strongest motivations are price and convenience, mentioned by two thirds of the population, while only 8% said taste encouraged them to eat ‘junk food’.

Internet memes were once relegated to the depths of 4chan and Reddit. As memetic content surfaces in the mainstream, brands are looking to incorporate memes into their own ads. But can the spontaneous, bottom-up spirit that makes them so potent really be bottled and sold?

Despite 61% of Australians being overweight and obese, there are signs that things are changing. Following the huge popularity of fast food in recent years, growing health awareness has led to changing eating habits, and people are embracing healthier and more diverse food.