One of Australia’s biggest radio stars, Alan Jones, has called on his listener base to boycott one of Australia’s biggest brands, Coles.

The rallying cry – in which he tells the brand “good luck to you by the time I’m finished” – comes as Jones faces increasing pressure from brands which have ceased, or paused, advertising on his program.

Jones is the leader in Sydney’s breakfast radio market, with his show on Macquarie Media’s 2GB commanding a 16.8% market share.

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Despite his loyal and large audience, however, brands have been taking a stand against the program following his inflammatory comments against New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern.

In August, Jones suggested Australia’s PM, Scott Morrison, should shove a sock down the throat of Ardern to silence her on climate change. He also said Ardern should be backhanded.

The resulting backlash led to various brands, including Coles, issuing statements saying they would no longer support the program.

Initially, Jones was unfazed, saying that any advertiser which abandoned him, his program, and the station, would quickly be replaced by another brand willing to take its place.

The tone somewhat shifted, however, when Macquarie Media’s chairman Russell Tate wrote to advertisers apologising for the affair, and offering up meetings between the station, clients and Jones himself.

“I will close by apologising sincerely, on behalf of Macquarie and Alan, for any disruption caused to your company as a result of remarks made by him. Alan and I are happy to talk and meet with as many of our advertisers as possible over the next two months to hear your views on how we can best serve your business, but in the meantime, I would be very interested to hear any comments or thoughts which can help us do that,” Tate said in signing off the letter.

It appears to be back to normal programming now though, with Jones telling Coles this morning “we can both play at the same game”.

“So my advice to Coles is get your own value system in order, before you start passing judgement on other people. But don’t worry, we can both play the same game,” he said.

“So I can tell my listeners to give Coles supermarkets… and their petrol stations a very wide berth.

“This is a two-way street. We can both play the same game. It might be time I entered the ring and started playing that game. And good luck to you by the time I’m finished.”

Coles has been contacted for comment.

Jones’ two-year contract with Macquarie Media, majority owned by Nine, goes through until mid 2021. He has, however, been put on notice and told that “any recurrence of commentary of this nature will result in the termination of his contract”.