Available in apple, orange, lemon and pear flavours, Slamma comes pre-packaged in miniature branded glasses with flip-off plastic lids.
As it is the only shooter to be packaged in glass, GBL is planning that consumers will buy the drinks and then take the glasses from the pub to re-use at home, keeping the brand in the minds of its customers and anyone they live with. "We hope they will try to collect all four,
said marketing manager Natasha Nugent. She claimed that pubs would not mind because they would only throw the glasses away after use.
But GBL could be facing a showdown with industry watchdog The Portman Group over the product, which looks likely to fall foul of tough new rules proposed in The Portman Group's Code of Practice.
Under its current clause entitled 'rapid drinking', the Portman Group bans companies from encouraging 'immoderate consumption'. However, it is looking at an amendment which would strengthen the code.
The amendment would prohibit the promotion of drinks specifically as shooters or slammers. GBL's Nugent admitted she was not aware of the proposed revision.
A spokesman for the Portman Group stressed that the Code revision was still at draft stage and under consultation. Submissions closed at the end of March, and a new Code will be published in the summer.
VK Slamma is being promoted to the trade with press advertising created in-house and a customised point-of-sale pack including drip mats and T-shirts. Consumer activity, likely to include press and poster ads, will follow in a few weeks.
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