WIN! 50 crates of beer!

Brewery bosses celebrate England victory with cheeky ad campaign

By Dan Evans, 22/11/2008

A SERIES of cheeky beer adverts poking fun at the Germans have caused a sensation - and to celebrate England's win in Berlin we've got FIFTY crates of ale to give away.

Spitfire Ale's Bottle of Britain campaign's raising chuckles with ad slogans like: "Downed all over Kent, just like the Luftwaffe" and "Goering. Goering. Gone".

Click here to see our slideshow of cheeky Spitfire ads

Kent-based brewers Shepherd Neame originally dreamt up the tongue-in-cheek ideas - some of which were deemed too cheeky to be used - to commemorate the Battle of Britain.

The adverts have now found new fans since England's footballers beat Germany 2-1 last Wednesday - and to celebrate the result the News of the World has crates of Spitfire to give away to fifty readers.

To enter all you need to do is email your name, address and the scoreline from Wednesday's game to the following email address: spitfirecompetition@shepherd-neame.co.uk

You can see a slideshow of all of the adverts - which have been whizzing around the web in viral emails - by clicking on the link at the top of this page.

One of the adverts to get people smiling shows Hitler next to the logo "Spot the ball" (historians recently confirmed The Fuhrer had only one testicle).

null

Shepherd Neame said the campaign's been so successful since it launched in 1997 the ads have been reproduced in a book to raise money for the RAF Benevolent Fund.

The spokesman added: "Proceeds go toward helping former and serving members of the forces."

But the Advertising Standards Agency said it had received complaints that some ads in the campaign were offensive.

A spokesman said: "We upheld the complaints on one occasion. Any advertiser intending to play on national identities or stereotypes in their ad campaigns should be mindful of the potential to cause serious or widespread offence."

Please note: You must be over 18 to enter our competition. Entries close at midnight on Monday November 24th. The 50 winners, who will be drawn at random will each receive one crate of Spitfire.

* Is the Spitfire campaign funny or offensive? You can post your comments below.

Your comments

This article has 13 comments

after they got beat 2-1, i bet the germans were spitting fire ha ha

By paul bedford. Posted November 24 2008 at 5:51 PM.

Amusing to see the comments surrounding Shepherd Neames genius in advertising. Ironically though Hitler was Austrian, it was the Germans that allowed the dictator to ruin their country.

Dispute the comments surrounding the education system of Germany that see's promising students having to work 40 hours a week for €400 a month for three years in order to get anywhere in life.

Wake-up people, these adverts are a jovial look on life and history. If you think the Germans are seriously insulted by this then you are mistaken. The sheer volume of German visitors to Shepherd Neames factory this year alone speaks for itself.

Kind regards and look forward to more adverts in future.

Kaufmeister - Life from a snowy Koln, Germany

By Kaufmeister. Posted November 23 2008 at 3:47 PM.

germany 1!! ENGLAND have 2 good for them

By peter. Posted November 23 2008 at 3:25 PM.

Get over it Dandy.
The war finished 68 years ago, and you are still harping on about it.
Times have changed.
Remember the times Germany have beaten Britain. Beaten them at producing reliable goods, beaten them at building better cars, beaten them at providing more wholesome food, beaten them in cleanliness beaten them at football when it matters beaten them in all things educational. Where Britain has not beaten them is foul language, arrogance, disrespect of others and civil rights.

By fred. Posted November 23 2008 at 3:07 PM.

Hitler was not German, he was Austrian!

By sue h. Posted November 23 2008 at 12:55 PM.

Hitler was not German, he was Austrian!

By sue h. Posted November 23 2008 at 12:55 PM.

Hitler was not German, he was Austrian!

By sue h. Posted November 23 2008 at 12:54 PM.

Nice one !! Put your racist cards away, its just a bit of fun ! We're in Britian, we're British, and we won the war !

By Dandy Rathtub. Posted November 23 2008 at 12:41 PM.

Very funny and if the book raises monies for a RAF charity, then all the better

By James Bobbett. Posted November 23 2008 at 12:21 PM.

Excellent, well done Spitfire.

fred @0928 - "possibly racist"? I do hope you are joking.

By Richard Hertz. Posted November 23 2008 at 10:50 AM.

Very offensive, and possibly racist

By fred. Posted November 23 2008 at 9:28 AM.

Very Funny

By Andrew Cull. Posted November 23 2008 at 7:37 AM.

spitting ballistic

By dave bianchi. Posted November 23 2008 at 5:45 AM.

We have to check every comment before we can allow it to be published. But don't worry, we've got a team on it 24/7 - so check back soon! Please note that we cannot publish all comments received. The editor's decision is final. Please note that your email address will not be displayed next to your comment.