A LAGER called SH*G has been getting Scottish magazine readers all hot and bothered over its "saucy" advertising campaign.

The row erupted after the Alcohol Focus Scotland group objected to an advertisement in the Scottish Licensed Trade News magazine for The Spirit, Hop and Grape Company Limited's SH*G premium lager, which showed a photograph of a bottle of Sh*g in front of four "saucy seaside postcard"-style beermats which it claimed were "offensive."

But their claims, including that the product implied an "enhanced sexual capability", were not upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority.

A spokesperson for the company, based at Rough Hey Road, Grimsargh, said: "SH*G has been on sale in pubs, clubs and restaurants for several months and we were very surprised that the authority had received a complaint.

"The product name SH*G was chosen as an amusing point of sale, and material used to advertise it, such as the postcard-style beermats that were featured in this particular advertisement, also showed that. Our use of traditional postcard humour has been well received and we are not aware of any other complaints."

But he added: "We have never suggested that sexual success or performance would be enhanced by this product.

"SH*G is a registered trademark and has therefore been deemed acceptable by the Patent Office."

The publishers of the magazine supported this view. They said that they "did not believe the advertisement would offend their readership", which comprises of publicans and hoteliers in Scotland.

The advertising campaign showed the logo on the bottle of SH*G using the head and neck of the seabird to form the 'S'. The four beermats showed cartoon jokes, including one depicting a man wrapped in bandages lying in a hospital bed. A nurse was saying to the doctor: "The last thing he remembers is asking the barmaid for a SH*G."

Another showed a man and woman standing at a bus stop. The man, pointing to a nearby advertisement for SH*G lager, says: "Do you fancy a SH*G while we're waiting?"

On its decision to reject the complaint, the authority said: "The use of the word in a trade magazine distributed to publicans and hoteliers is unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence. In the context of British postcard humour, the innuendo based around the product name does not imply increased sexual success or performance."