Exclusive: Spitfire’s wartime coup with comedy duo

Comedy duo Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller are working with the ale brand in the guise of their RAF pilot characters to continue the beer’s tradition of tongue-in-cheek British humour.

The pair will take part in a series of television and print advertisements, which will launch in the summer, as well as collaborating with consumer and trade initiatives, including a ‘win Armstrong and Miller in your pub’ competition for licensees to enter in the spring.

Graeme Craig, sales and marketing director at Spitfire Ale, said: “We wanted to retain the humour of the brand but also take it to the next level. Armstrong and Miller’s Spitfire pilots are a match made in heaven. They have this lovely juxtaposition of wartime essence and irreverent in-jokes that is like pub banter.”

The RAF pilots, characters from Armstrong and Miller’s comedy series, are renowned for having the language and attitude of stereotypical modern-day teenagers but speaking with clipped 1940s accents, which Ben Miller believes suits the Spitfire brand. He said: “It’s not just that Spitfire feels extremely appropriate for the pilots but that Spitfire traditionally had such incredibly funny ads that we were huge fans of anyway.”

Alexander Armstrong added: “It’s just the perfect brand marriage. These are the enduring favourites of ours and they always seem to be the characters people have a soft spot for. It’s amazing to be bringing these guys back.”