A series of satirical ads that poke good-humoured fun at the Australians during the Ashes, are being rolled out by Pedigree beer brewer Marston’s. As part of the campaign, numerous ‘clean adverts’ are being laid down by eco-advertising agency CURB.

CURB creates the clean, green, eye-catching ads by spray-cleaning dirt off paving stones, using rain water and specialist equipment. The ads last for a month, on average, before fading.

Anthony Ganjou, MD of CURB said: “We love this campaign. It’s funny, topical and location specific. In others words, perfectly suited to a clean advertising campaign. We will be laying down adverts for most of the five tests of the Ashes around the grounds and key Aussie bars.”

The advertising creative was developed by DLKW. The campaign plays on the ‘Pedigree’ of the England side over their Australian counterparts, using traditional brewing imagery including a tiled pub sign, decorative pub mirror and British pub beer mats, to communicate the best of English heritage.

Part of Marston’s ‘England has it’ campaign, the tongue-in-cheek ads include the lines: ‘England has History. Australia has Previous’; ‘We have beer in our blood. Australians have lemon juice in their hair’ and ‘We’re English, we brew beer. You’re Australian, you serve it.’

Well-chosen banter has always been a unique feature of the Ashes – started by the Australians in 1882 when the English Sporting Times published an Aussie-funded ad bearing the lines, ‘English cricket has died and the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia’.

Marston’s marketing director, Peter Jackson, said: “England and Australia love to ‘hate’ each other for the five test matches that stand between them and that tiny urn, it’s a unique rivalry that you don’t find at any other test – but it’s all in good humour.

“The very fact that we have engaged in a bit of light-hearted banter is a more of a compliment than anything else. The Aussies would probably be more offended if we didn’t!”