Beer drinking with a WW2 theme

[beet1e]

There is a brewery in Kent called Shepherd Neame, which most of the UK guys will have heard of. One of their beers is called "Spitfire Bitter". Well, they've run into a spot of bother over their latest ad.

Story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/30/nshep30.xml

The brewery that raised both smiles and hackles for poking fun at Germans in a string of adverts has mentioned the war once too often.

Shepherd Neame, Britain's oldest family brewer, has quietly dropped its latest advertisement ahead of censure on taste grounds next month by the Advertising Standards Agency.

The brewers - whose more memorable slogans for its Spitfire beer include: "Downed all over Kent, just like the Luftwaffe" - have now angered many, including Ken Livingstone, the London Mayor, with a advert featuring the SS symbol.

In a newspaper last month, they ran the advert with a crossword-like clue that read: "German lager (4)". The answer had the last two filled in with letters "SS" in the lightning bolt shapes of the Schutz Staffel.

Quite apart from the obvious, crude answer to the clue - itself surprising because Shepherd Neame brews Holsten Export under licence at its Faversham brewery - it led to complaints being lodged with the authority.

Mr Livingstone, who had his own problems with the London Evening Standard after comparing a reporter to a concentration camp guard, branded the advert "astonishingly evil".

"The use of Nazi genocide symbols to advertise a mediocre beer is insulting to the victims of the SS and to present-day Germans," added the mayor on his web log.

In the past eight years Shepherd Neame's catalogue of "Bottle of Britain" ads has raised £100,000 for the RAF Benevolent Fund and other veterans' charities.

But it is not the first time that the brewery has run into problems with the authorities in London. In 2000, they ordered Spitfire posters to be removed from the Underground because they were deemed offensive to Germans.

The slogans included: "Have the sunbeds, we're going to the bar" and "Votz zo funny about zeez posters?".

In 2001, the ASA rejected the complaints, claiming that Germans also had a sense of humour.

Funny story! But watch out for the fun police - Sergeant Dago will be along shortly, waggling his billy stick, and delivering a lecture on the evils of alcohol.

[ChickenHawk]

Some people have no sense of humor.

[Panzzer]

Some people have no sense of humour.

I've had several Spitfires (here in Finland, where we all are a bunch of Messerschmitt-fanatics!), they even have Spitfire-glasses if you buy a 6-pack of them in the markets.

However, "beer drinking with a WW2 theme", we've had some WW2-veterans visiting our happenings (Virtualpilots.fi), was fun to be drinking beers with the veterans - such as a genuine 109-pilot (Erkki Pakarinen).

[Debonair]

Red Ken stating that drinking Spitfire is insulting to germans is just his way of announcing that he owns 10% of the brewery

[Sandman]

Here's the mayor's blog.

What a tool.

[beet1e]

Yes, Ken is indeed a complete avacado.

[shotgunneeley]

Old thread, but thought it applicable to add to. A local brewery has an American-style stout called the “Bat-Outta-Hell”, so named after Doolittle Raider Bob Hite’s B-25 Mitchell. It’s one of my favorites, my wife came home with a shirt I’m proud to see:

https://www.nativedogbrewing.com/product-page/bat-outta-hell-longsleeve

[nopoop]

Beet1e !!!! How are ya ya bastage !!

[SIK1]

beetle has been png for a long time. The thread is originally from 2006.


Sik

Sent from my SM-A015U using Tapatalk