Inbev has hit back at critics of the ad, created by Bartle Bogle Hegarty, by emphasising that Boddingtons is still brewed in the North West and cask Boddingtons is still brewed in its traditional home of Manchester.
Inbev, which has owned Boddingtons for five years, closed its 228-year-old Strangeways brewery in January with the loss of 60 jobs, saying it was no longer viable to retain production in the North West because of declining returns and the poor repair of the old Victorian brewery.
The group is contining to produce traditional cask ale at the family-run Hydes Brewery in Moss Side, Manchester.
The Transport & General Workers Union said it was a "disgraceful" that Inbev was relaunching the product and retaining the Manchester link with the area by using the quintessential Madchester era classic 'Step On' by the Happy Mondays.
"Inbev pulled out of production in Manchester with no regard for the heritage of the brand's success with the city. The company is having its cake and eating it, but we are pleased because it means that is has angered people even more as there has been an increase in the amount of people joining the boycott over the closure," a T&GWU spokesman said.
The latest TV ads are in keeping with Boddingtons history of humour with its setting in a remote cowshed in the Alps and a mischievous farmer putting hay into a trough for his cow as he listens to yodelling music playing on the his cassette player.
Bored of his day's chores, the farmer decides that traditional yodelling music is not for him and swaps it for something more in tune with his choice of music, the Happy Mondays track. The cow obviously likes the music too because as the farmer sits down to milk him, he produces a perfectly poured pint of Boddingtons.
A spokesperson from Inbev UK, said: "This is a case of damned if we do and damned if we don't. If we made no reference to Manchester and the North West in our advertising we would be accused of turning our backs on the city and region altogether.
"The closure of the Strangeways brewery was regrettable but necessary, and the reasons for that difficult decision have already been widely reported"
He added that the brand is "Mancunian through and through" because that is where its personality and popularity developed.
Phil Rumbol, Boddingtons marketing director, said: "We wanted to create something very different yet maintain the humour Boddingtons is famous for. The new ad is set to become a truly unique experience."
BBH has been behind Boddingtons ad campaigns since 1990 when, then model and now daytime TV host, Melanie Sykes used her strong Manchester accent to deliver the line "Eh Tarquil, are your trolleys on right way round?".
The campaign featured the "Cream of Manchester" slogan, which was dropped two years ago.
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