Fosters cans Brad and Dan in same week as global boss calls to scrap 'sexist and insulting' ads

Aussie characters credited with driving 70 per cent sales growth of brand

Heineken, which owns the UK rights to the brand, said the ads had been instrumental in moving Fosters from third to first place in the off-trade lager market (YouTube)

Fosters has called time on its Brad and Dan ad series, declaring that "beer is now drunk by women and men together", despite it being credited with driving sales growth of nearly 70 per cent between 2010 and 2013.

SABMiller, which owns Fosters, Grolsch and Peroni, said it would seek to move away from themes that might be seen as "insulting" or "dismissive" by women.

Heineken, which owns the UK rights to the brand, said the ads had been instrumental in moving Fosters from third to first place in the off-trade lager market. It is said to have achieved the highest return revenue of any beer campaign in history, with every £1 driving £32 in revenue.

The final advert of the series will be shown on Friday on Channel 4, before Alan Carr: Chatty Man. It shows Brad and Dan picking up their suitcase and heading off with their fiancées while the phone rings behind them.

Brad and Dan first appeared on UK televisions in 2010. The two Australians were seen in a beach hut disposing advice to British men over the telephone with concerns like: "Will my girlfriend turn out to look like her mum?"

The number of female beer drinkers in the UK has doubled to 1.3 million in recent years, while women make up 31% of weekly beer drinkers, according to reports.

A spokeswoman for Heineken said the decision to cut the Brad and Dan ads were unrelated to comments made by the head of SABMiller.