Pub fined thousands for offering women free drinks based on their bra size

An Australian pub has been fined $3,897 AUD (around £2,025) after its attempt at a light-hearted promo campaign went down like a pint of warm beer.

The Woolshed on Hindley, in Adelaide, offered punters free drinks in exchange for their bras, telling them: “The bigger, the better.”

Suffice it to say, authorities didn't see the funny side, and the venue was deemed to have violated South Australia's General Code of Practice and Late Night Code of Practice.

“Gender-based promotions – including those that objectify people — are not only out of line with community expectations, but are in breach of this code," Liquor and Gambling commissioner Dini Soulio said in a statement shared with the Daily Mailon Monday.

"Theme nights and other promotions can be a great way for licensed venues to attract customers, but there must be appropriate standards," he added.

In a now-deleted Facebook ad, posted back in June, customers were instructed to “hang your bra in the shed” in order to bag themselves a beverage – and the larger the cup size, the larger the reward.

According to the online poster, an A cup would get you one free drink, a B cup would get you two and a C cup would get you three.

Bras were hung up on the walls of the nightclub to encourage people to contribute their own, the Daily Mailreported at the time.

But it didn't all go as planned.

Social media was soon flooded with angry comments about the “misogynistic” and “offensive” campaign.

"We’ve just set the female gender back several decades,” one wrote, according to The Advertiser.

“Was a terrible idea from the get-go. Whoever came up with it and then allowed it to be shared should be in big trouble, seriously inappropriate stuff,” said another.

A poster advertising the campaign was swiftly removedWoolshedAdelaide/Facebook

The Woolshed subsequently published a grovelling message expressing its remorse for the misguided idea.

It read: “We would like to address the concerns that have been raised regarding a recent social media post shared by our nightclub. We sincerely apologise for the fact that the post made some of our patrons feel uncomfortable and body-shamed as this was never our intention.

“Based on the feedback from our community we have cancelled the promotion and are workshopping ideas for different promotions that promote a fun, safe and inclusive environment for all. Moving forward senior management will be reviewing all promotional activity to ensure that it creates an inclusive environment for all our patrons.”

However, plenty of commentators were quick to laugh off the situation.

“I was looking [forward] to the 8 free drinks, people need to lighten up a little,” one wrote.

“What is happening with this world?” asked another. “No one was being forced to do something they didn’t want to do! If people were offended by what the promotion was then just don’t go!”

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