New row breaks out over Manchester Boddies ad

Related tags Boddingtons Manchester

Interbrew has received a furious response to its new Boddingtons advertisement from the Transport & General Workers Union (T&G).The new...

Interbrew has received a furious response to its new Boddingtons advertisement from the Transport & General Workers Union (T&G).

The new advert is called Magic Cow and shows said bovine producing a fresh pint of Boddingtons from her udders when she hears songs by Manchester band the Happy Mondays.

However, following the closure of the Boddingtons brewery in Manchester by Interbrew in February, the T&G union believes this association with Manchester's cultural heritage is too much to bear.

The union's general secretary Tony Woodley said: "Our people fought back because they believed in their brewery, their city and their heritage.

"For the company to close the Strangeways site, only then to try to capitalise on former glories, is an insult to the workers, their families and Manchester. If Interbrew had any decency they'd see this and withdraw their adverts now."

However, Interbrew has hit back arguing that through its decision to move the brewing of all cask Boddingtons to the Hydes brewery in Manchester, it has managed to keep hold of some of the brand's Mancunian identity.

A spokeswoman from Interbrew UK said: "This is a case of damned if we do and damned if we don't. If we made no reference to Manchester and the North West in our advertising we would be accused of turning our backs on the city and region altogether.

"The closure of the Strangeways brewery was regrettable but necessary, and the reasons for that difficult decision have already been widely reported.

"The fact is that Boddingtons is still brewed in the North West, and cask Boddingtons is still brewed in Manchester. The brand is Mancunian through and through because that's where the brand developed its personality and popularity - and that's as relevant today as it was in previous years."

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