ASA rules Smirnoff advert offensive

The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that a Smirnoff advert is offensive after it received more than 40 complaints.

It said the advert, which features a naked man sliding down a banister, and carried the words, "If Smirnoff Made Painkillers", caused offence because many people thought the man was completely naked, although Guinness UDV insisted that he was wearing flesh-coloured underpants.

However, the complaints were upheld and Guinness UDV has since apologised, saying that the posters were supposed to be humorous. It has promised not to use them again.

In addition, the authority queried whether the campaign, which ran for the first two weeks of August, could have encouraged people to drink too much, but this was eventually ruled out.

A spokeswoman for Guinness UDV told thePublican.com: "It was never our intent to cause offence.

"The advert wasn't supposed to be taken literally and we would like to reassure brewers that we go to great lengths to ensure that our adverts do not in any way condone or encourage excessive or irresponsible drinking."