An Australian beer advertisement has reportedly ticked off Disney because it features a Snow White lookalike lying in bed blowing smoke rings with seven undressed dwarves. Who would have guessed that? The ad campaign for Jamieson Brewery’s Raspberry Ale was created by the Australian advertising agency The Foundry to promote the beer as “anything but sweet” with a maiden they call “Ho White” and seven dwarves.
The Walt Disney Co., who licenses the usually wholesome character, quickly noticed The Foundry’s online and print marketing, the Daily Telegraph reports. The Foundry said it had “a little bit of contact” with Disney over this adults-only version of Snow White.
The official Web site, anythingbutsweet.com.au, can no longer be accessed. The Foundry’s Web site reportedly featured pictures of “Ho White” earlier this week but no longer does. Now, mind you, the tale of Snow White has been circulating around Europe for centuries in many different cultures. Grimm’s fairy tales written in the 1850’s. The story is not copyright-able or owned by Disney. The look of the characters may be a Disney copyright, but the story has long since passed into the public domain.
Of course, some of them definitely have that Disney-esque look to them …