Greene King advert sets pulses racing

A Greene King beer advert showing a woman apparently having an orgasm has sparked outrage, according to one national newspaper.

Advertising watchdogs had a string of complaints about the ad for Greene King's Abbot Ale, reports the Daily Mirror.

One newspaper has refused to carry the image - part of a £500,000 promotion.

Brewing boss Rooney Anand told the Mirror: "We will leave it the mind of whoever looks at the advert to decide what she is doing.

"If people want to interpret her as having an orgasm that's up to them.

"It's time to explode the myth that real ale is for old men with beards. It's not, it's for everyone.

"We think our new adverts are great fun and we hope people enjoy them."

The campaign to take Abbot to a younger audience also features a television commercial showing a blindfolded woman tied to a bed, having her toes licked.

What she doesn't realise is it's her labrador not her lover, doing the licking. The camera cuts to a man who is downstairs sipping a pint of IPA in the bar. The slogan reads: "Would you say no to another?"

The Advertising Standards Authority is thought to be investigating the complaints.

While the ASA investigates, Greene King is set to raise awarness of its "repositioning" of the Abbot Ale brand with a sample roadshow which will hit 15 towns and cities nationwide.

The brewer has decked out a 50-plus seater coach with the advert that is at the centre of the storm. The picture, which shows a woman at the height of ecstasy, carrys the slogan: "some things get better given longer."

Abbot Ale "ambassadors" will accompany the bus and give away thousands of vouchers that can be redeemed for a free pint in local pubs.

Related stories:​

Greene King IPA campaign is strictly taboo (19 April 2002)