Drunken chimp to star in cinema advert

The first leg of the campaign is a cinema advert that will be shown later this month at the town's Byron Cineplex on High Street — the hub of Hucknall's night-time drinking with a pub every few yards.

It features a group of friends on a night out in a bar with Jo the chimpanzee, who gradually becomes more and more drunk to illustrate the bad behaviour of a binge-drinker.

The advert, 'Don't Be The Drunken Monkey', has been launched by The Portman Group, which is a national body charged with promoting responsible drinking.

It has been designed by high-profile ad company M&C Saatchi and was launched last week at Nottingham's Broadway Cinema.

But the campaign, which will also hit TV screens, has already been slated by animal rights groups which say the ads are exploitative and should be withdrawn.

Speaking through the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), Dr Jane Goodall, who has spent her life campaigning for apes, said: "Chimpanzees and apes suffer horribly for society's entertainment.

"It is time to move beyond the misuse of creatures who are vulnerable to our exploitation precisely because they are so like us.

"We are asking The Portman Group to make the right choice and remove itself from this cruelty."

But Asif Sahil, owner of the Byron Cineplex, backed the campaign and said: "I'm sure there are very strict guidelines in making these adverts and they are stuck to.

"But provided it is done in a correct manner you have got to support anything that attempts to cut down on binge-drinking and people going out simply to get drunk."

The cinema advert shows Jo being funny to start with, drinking a bottle of beer. But as the night continues the chimp becomes more aggressive and loses control, leaving Jo's friends to continually apologise.

Later they all go to a club and Jo continues to become rowdier, eventually being sick in a toilet. The advert ends with the chimp slumped in an alley on a pile of rubbish.

This first ad will be backed up by posters displaying the 'drunken monkey' message on bus shelters, pub toilets and beer mats — including throughout the Dispatch district.

The posters will carry messages saying either 'Scrapper Monkey', 'Slumper Monkey' or 'Shudder Monkey'

At the launch, Jean Coussins, chief executive of The Portman Group, said: "This campaign is about changing attitudes to drinking. We chose to launch it in the East Midlands because of the big young population and the busy night-time economy.

"Many adults like to go for a night out with their friends, but they hate it when one of them drinks too much and loses control. It spoils things for everyone.

"By putting this surprising and hard-hitting campaign in front of people we hope to challenge young adults to think about their attitudes and behaviour when they go out for a drink."

But the timing of the campaign has also been criticised as it comes just days after a group of celebrities, including Pamela Anderson, launched an initiative to end the use of live apes in films and advertising.

In recent years other major companies have also committed to stopping advertising campaigns featuring chimpanzees.