Carling ad backed by ASA ruling

A raunchy cinema commercial for Carling lager is not lewd or offensive to over 15s, according to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

In the advert entitled "Rewarding", a woman coaxes her partner into licking the house clean by pouring lager throughout.

When she goes to pour it over herself there is still some beer left in the can, rather than it running out in a similar ad titled "Frustrating".

The complainants objected that the commercial was lewd, offensive and in poor taste. They claimed it was demeaning to men and that it inferred oral sex.

However the ASA said the advert was only shown with films that were certified as 15 or 18 and that viewers would see the woman's use of the beer to get the man to clean the flat as humorous and not demeaning to men or offensive.

A spokesperson for Coors Brewers said: "We only received two complaints on a commercial that was seen by millions of cinema goers and these complaints were not upheld by the ASA. We have no plans to show the commercial again in 2003."

The Independent Television Commission (ITC) banished the TV advert to a post-9pm slot last September because of the suggestion of oral sex.

Meanwhile, objections to a poster for Jacob's Creek wine that was headlined "Group Therapy" and pictured four bottles of wine were not upheld.

The Authority concluded that the advertisement did not suggest that drinking alcohol could help with personal or emotional problems or encourage excessive drinking, despite complaints suggesting otherwise.