Clarkson hits out at Hawkstone beer advert ban

Jeremy Clarkson has hit out at UK advertising regulators after his latest Hawkstone lager advert was pulled from broadcast.

The ex-Top Gear presenter, who now farms the 400ha Diddly Squat Farm near Chipping Norton in West Oxfordshire, described it as his “most expensive” and “most heartfelt” campaign to date.

The commercial features a 34-strong choir of British farmers performing a reworked, sweary operatic anthem, which ends with the farmers chanting, “F*** me it’s good.”

Mr Clarkson then takes a sip and adds, “Hawkstone. It is f***ing good.”

See also: Clarkson’s Farm returns for Season 4 with new challenges

The ad, promoting the beer produced at Diddly Squat Farm, was intended as a tribute to British farming.

However, it has been banned from airing on TV, radio and in cinemas after the Advertising Standards Authority deemed it to be “not compliant” with advertising rules, likely due to its explicit language.

Speaking from Diddly Squat Farm, Mr Clarkson said:

“It’s a cock-up, as usual. I’ve made my biggest, most heartfelt, and frankly, most expensive advert ever, and it’s been banned.

“The fun police in their beige offices have decided that the public can’t be trusted to watch it. It’s been kicked off the telly, silenced on the radio, and barred from the cinema.”

500,000 views on Instagram

Despite the broadcast ban, the ad has already been viewed more than 500,000 times on Mr Clarkson’s Instagram account within 24 hours. He has called on newspaper editors to publish it instead.

Hawkstone lager, co-owned by Mr Clarkson and entrepreneur Johnny Hornby, has seen rapid growth, with sales tripling to £21.3m in the past year.

It’s now stocked in major supermarkets and served in more than 2,000 pubs across the UK.

The incident comes as the Amazon TV series Clarkson’s Farm continues to draw attention, with its latest fourth season taking a more serious tone amid ongoing challenges in the farming sector.

Filming Clarkson’s beer ad was ‘a great laugh’  

Singing farmers with Jeremy Clarkson © Richard Heady

Farmers who appeared in Jeremy Clarkson’s beer advert described the experience as both hilarious and heartwarming, calling the shoot a rare celebration of British agriculture.

Buckinghamshire farmer Richard Heady answered a casting call earlier this year by submitting a video of himself singing.

In May, he was invited to Jeremy Clarkson’s pub, The Farmer’s Dog, in Burford, Oxfordshire, to take part in the Hawkstone lager advert.

All those cast were genuine members of the farming community.

Around 10 of the strongest singers were brought into the studio to record the main vocals, while the remaining farmers, including Mr Heady, joined the chorus during filming on the day.

“Jeremy Clarkson really looked after us,” said Mr Heady. “He really engaged with what we’re doing on our farms. He treated us like royalty.

“The group of farmers has really gelled – it’s been a great laugh.”

He was among those invited back for a private screening at Mr Clarkson’s pub this week.

Asked about the ad’s ban, Mr Heady said: “It’s typical Clarkson. People love him because he’s honest and he likes to shock people. It catches attention.”

Gwen Woodruffe, a farmer’s wife from Petersfield, Hampshire, and an advisory member at Petersfield Young Farmers’ Club, also took part.

She answered a Facebook call for farmers who could sing, unaware it was for Mr Clarkson.

“We had an amazing day filming and recording at The Farmer’s Dog. Everyone was really friendly – Jeremy, Kaleb [Cooper], and ‘Cheerful’ Charlie.

“At one point, Jeremy said: ‘Are you really farmers?’ Then looked at us and said, ‘Oh yeah, you look like farmers.’”

Ms Woodruffe added: “Banning the advert will hopefully give it lots of free publicity and get people talking about British agriculture in a positive light.”