Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/04/13/stripper_lager/
Stripping Belgian lager girl off UK shelves
Removable swimsuit beer label ruled offside
Posted in Bootnotes, 13th April 2007 14:13 GMT
A Belgian lager whose label features a buxom lass in a removable swimsuit* has been removed from sale in the UK, The Publican reports.
Rubbel Sexy Lager - brewed by Brouwerij Huyghe - violated The Portman Group's Code of Practice (http://www.portmangroup.co.uk/uploaded_files/documents/35_152_3rdCode.pdf), the Independent Complaints Panel ruled, because "the name of the drink and the swimsuit were associated with sexual success". Section 3.2 (d) of said code states: "A drink, its packaging and any promotional material or activity should not in any direct or indirect way suggest any association with sexual success."
The ruling came after a complaint from Buckinghamshire Trading Standards. The Portman Group's big cheese David Poley offered: "Some people might think this is harmless fun but there is a serious issue involved. The industry has set itself strict marketing rules and this drink has fallen short of those high standards."
Bootnote
*The young lady's swimwear is stripped off by scratching, we gather. As for the beer itself, one Copenhagen ale fancier described it (http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/rubbel-sexy-lager/6188/) thus: "Nice white creamy and lasting head."