A whinging lager drinker has been forced to cry into his beer after griping about an Oxfordshire brewery's advertising campaign.
The 'offensive and aggressive' advert
An unnamed afficionado of the fizzy beverage decided the Witney-based Wychwood Brewery had gone beyond the pale with the slogan "Afraid of the dark, Lagerboy?" accompanying an advert for its Hobgoblin ale.
The advert, which carried the catchline underneath an image of the distinctive hobgoblin character, ran in the Oxford Mail and national newspapers.
The Hampshire-based drinker complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) describing the campaign for the dark beer as "aggressive and offensive." But the watchdog ruled the advertisement was intended to be humorous and that the hobgoblin image was "stylised and unrealistic." It accepted the campaign run around Halloween in 2004 and 2005 was an extension of a regular series of adverts designed to imply that Hobgoblin had a more distinctive taste than lager.
Wychwood bosses said they had not received any direct complaints about the campaign, which is aimed at men over the age of 35.
The ASA added: "The ad was intended to be humorous and the image was stylised and unrealistic.
"We considered that readers of The Times would not find the ad offensive or aggressive."
A second investigation by the ASA itself which questioned whether the advert was irresponsible because it portrayed drinking Hobgoblin as a challenge was also rejected.
The ASA added: "We concluded readers would not infer that drinking Hobgoblin was a challenge to be brave or daring."
Rupert Thompson, managing director of the Wychwood Brewery said: "It would have enraged Britain's ale drinkers if this ridiculous complaint had been upheld. It's absurd for anyone to complain that our ad was in any way misleading or challenging. This is a victory for commonsense and humour."
The campaign ran also featured promotions of glow-in-the-dark T-shirts at several Oxfordshire pubs.
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