In what has been labelled a “triumph of pomposity”, an advertisement for beer has been withdrawn from Australian billboards at a cost of nearly £5000 after complaints by monarchists upset at its apparent pro-republican sentiment.

“Forget the monarchy, support the publicans” declared the cheeky billboard for Coopers beer, one of Australia’s favourite brews.

But the Australian Monarchists League (AML) was not amused and, with the new centre left government aiming to reignite the republican debate in Australia, they complained to the Coopers,demanding that the billboards be taken down.

AML national chairman Philip Benwell said the problem was not with the humour of the slogan but the fact that they considered it a political statement and an attack on Australia’s constitutional monarchy.

“Some may see the ad as humorous, and I don’t doubt that some people within Coopers viewed it that way,” Mr Benwell said, adding his group simply wanted to “protect the denigration of the monarchy”.

“But the fact is that to put up in large letters ‘forget the monarchy’ is something that we had to protest about because it is a political statement, particularly at a time when the Prime Minister has said that its government will pursue a republic at some time in the near future.”

“They could have said ‘forget the republic’ instead,” he said.

In 1999 a referendum vote in Australia, engineered by former conservative prime minister and monarchist John Howard, was defeated after republicans were unable to decide what type of presidency the country should have, despite wide public support for a shift.

However the current prime minister, Kevin Rudd, ended a visit to Britain in April with an audience with Queen Elizabeth II and a prediction that the debate on a republic would grow in Australia in 2009.

Coopers managing director Tim Cooper told the Times Online the company received only a small amount of complaints but withdrew the campaign, which cost them approximately £4,600 ($AU10,000), so as not to “alienate our supporters”.

Asked if the billboards, one of which was placed prominently outside one of Sydney’s busiest shopping centres, were meant to reflect the Cooper family’s political views, Dr Cooper said: “No, it does not indicate that we are supporting the republic.”

Dr Cooper admitted he is personally a fan of the Queen and last month took his children to visit Balmoral castle in Scotland while on a family holiday.

“I think the Royal family over the years have done a very good job,” Dr Cooper said.

“I’ve always been a supporter of the monarchy in a sense that it has not done us any harm in Australia, and has done us a lot of good in terms of providing us with a stable government over the years.”

The brewer, established in 1862, is Australia's last family owned brewery, and produces ales, stouts and lagers sold across the country and internationally.

While Coopers were happy to oblige the monarchist complaints, an advertising and communications consultant said the move could backfire given Australia’s reputation for having an irreverent sense of humour and a large fondness for beer.

"It's a triumph of pomposity,” Ms June Caro told an Australian radio station. “I think the monarchists should apologise to us all for making the world a little duller.”

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