 AN ADVERTISING campaign for a Merseyside drinks company has been rejected - because the men in the adverts are too good looking. Halewood International, which makes Lambrini, has had its latest advertising campaign turned down because it goes against Advertising Standards Association (ASA) rules. These state that, when advertising alcohol, a firm must not suggest that it will make you more successful with the opposite sex. Lambrini owner John Halewood said: "I couldn't believe it when the ASA phoned me up. I thought at first that they must be joking when someone phoned and told me the men in the adverts were just far too attractive. "Then I saw it in black and white I just thought 'This is bureaucracy gone mad'." The ASA wrote to Mr Halewood saying: "We would advise that the man in the picture should be unattractive - i.e. overweight, middle-aged, balding, etc. "In its current form, we consider that the ad is in danger of implying that the drink may bring sexual/social success, because the man in question looks quite attractive and desirable to the girls. If the man was clearly unattractive, we think that this implication would be removed from the ad." If an advertiser was to follow the letter of the ASA's laws that would mean, it would seem, that Hollywood heartthrobs such as Sean Connery and Bruce Willis would not be deemed to be too attractive. Lambrini's new advertising campaign is called Fun in the Sun. Costing £2m, it will be launched at the beginning of August and will now feature men deemed to be unattractive by the ASA. However, Mr Halewood said: "I'm sure their wives and mothers find our models attractive, even if the ASA does not." The Merseyside drinks manufacturer spends around £4m each year in advertising revenues and has been running the 'Lambrini girls just want to have fun' campaign for several years. But this is not the first time the firm has come under fire because of its raunchy advertising. The company was criticised last year over billboard adverts which were timed to coincide with last year's Aintree Grand National. The posters - which included slogans such as 'I love a man with a powerful beast between his legs' - resulted in complaints from members of the public. A spokesman for the ASA said: "This is not a case of the ASA saying who is and who is not attractive. "Also, it's not the case that the ASA is dictating that you can not have attractive people in alcohol adverts. "Halewood International are currently required to have all their poster campaigns for Lambrini pre-vetted by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) Copy Advice team. "This follows a ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority in June 2004, which found one of their poster campaigns to be in breach of the advertising rules' requirement that no link be made between the consumption of alcohol and sexual success." kate.mansey @liverpool.com | 
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