A BEER ad that poked fun at redheads has been banned after viewers slammed it as “offensive” and “racist”.

The Carlton and United Breweries’ Rusty Yak Gingery Ale campaign was officially pulled after Ad Standards received complaints from consumers who described the clip as “bullying” and “discriminating”.

The video, which asked Aussies to “stop the spread of the Ginger Gene” by looking for hidden ginger ales within regular Yak six packs of beer, was created by Clemenger BBDO Melbourne.

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The agency claimed the ad referenced redheads in a “lighthearted and humorous way” — however, many viewers disagreed, with one official complaint describing the ad as “very offensive”.

“It’s very offensive for the advertisement to be discriminating against those with red hair, suggesting that they need to ‘stop the gene spreading’ as if it were some sort of disease. “Children already get bullied at school for having red hair, and advertisements like this only further encourage that type of bullying,” the complaint read, according to Mumbrella.

One viewer was so outraged by the “shameful bigoted campaign against redheads” they launched a Change.org petition calling for its removal.

“This ad is a direct attack on all redheads and their families. It implies there is something wrong with having red hair and says ‘we need your help to stop the spread of the (ginger) gene’,” the petition read.

“While the ad is clearly supposed to be satirical, imagine if the same standard was applied to any other group in society. Would it be OK to advertise a black stout in the same manner?

“This ad is discriminatory and singles out a group in society for ridicule based on the colour of their hair/skin. It should be immediately removed by CUB.”

The media watchdog agreed with the complaints and ordered the removal of the controversial commercial.

“The phrase ‘stop the spread of the gene’ overstepped the line between being lighthearted humour and made a strong suggestion that an identifiable group of the population was to be considered unpopular,” the Ad Standards report read.

“The majority of the panel considered the suggestion that the genetic trait needed to be stopped was a negative one, and considered that the most reasonable interpretation of this line was that having red hair was undesirable.

“The majority of the panel considered that the inclusion of this line in the advertisement was vilifying of people with red hair as it was likely to incite ridicule of people with red hair.”

alexis.carey@news.com.au