In the new ad, produced by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, a young man in a village threatened by a nearby volcano removes his shoes and socks and walks across molten lava to rescue a keg of Guinness, which has fallen through a collapsed wall.
A Guinness spokeswoman said the ad was not an attempt to capitalise on the suffering caused by natural disasters, but a "black comedy".
The company claims the images in the film - a pig scoffing an abandoned cake, a large woman running outside in her underwear to grab her clothes from a washing line and a man soaking in his bath as his wall disappears - suggest none of the action should be taken seriously. "We are not making fun of natural disasters. That wasn't the intention,
the spokeswoman said.
The ad, supported by a £1.8 million spend, is due to make its debut during the match between France and Senegal, which will open the World Cup on 31 May.
The Independent Television Commission said: "It is difficult to predict which ads will or won't cause offence."
The commercial, the latest in Guinness' "Believe
campaign, involved a two-week shoot, directed by Rupert Sanders for Outsider. It involved a crew of hundreds to create the scenery.
More than 300 hours were spent in post-production for the 60- and 30-second executions, which were written by Tony Strong and art directed by Mike Durban. Media is being bought by Carat.
The spot marks a return to AMV for Guinness. Its last campaign was developed by Irish International.
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