Step One underwear ad leaves uncomfortable Barry Crocker feeling he has had a shocker

A legal stoush over the unauthorised use of his name in an underwear ad has meant singer Barry Crocker has had, well, a Barry Crocker.

A legal stoush over the unauthorised use of his name by an underwear brand has meant singer Barry Crocker has had, well, a Barry Crocker.

Australian-based Step One Underwear has released an ad that says: “Make chafing a thing of the past. Stop having a Barry Crocker with your underwear, buy Step One.”

But it seems Crocker, 86, has his knickers in a knot over the unauthorised use of his name.

“The first I knew of it was when my friends started calling me and saying they had seen I was on an underwear ad,” Crocker told The Daily Telegraph.

“They never called to ask for my permission. Maybe they thought I was dead.”

Legendary Aussie entertainer Barry Crocker has become entangled in a stoush with an underwear company.

The veteran entertainer and Gold Logie winner, who had a large following in the 1970s and also sang the theme song to soap opera Neighbours, is used to Australians swapping his name for the word “shocker’’ when they are having a bad day.

He has been for decades.

Crocker is concerned about the “derogatory” use of his name in the ad without permission or compensation.

“People come up to me in the street and say I have had a Barry today. I know it is all good natured banter,” he said.

“But these people (Step One) are using my name in almost a derogatory way and it’s really not on. If people are using someone’s name to sell something then that person should be ­rewarded in some way.”

Mr Crocker tried contacting Step One and then asked his lawyers to get in touch, however, he has heard nothing in reply.

“I just want a fair suck of the sauce bottle,” he said.

“But these guys seem so mean they would steal a worm off a blind chook.

“They didn’t even offer me a free pair of Reg Grundy’s.”

However, Step One remained unrepentant when contacted by The Daily Telegraph on Sunday.

Australian based Step One Underwear has released a TV ad that says: “Make chafing a thing of the past. Stop having a Barry Crocker with your underwear”.

“It seems like one of the Barry Crockers of the world is upset we’ve used their name because it rhymes with ‘shocker’,” a company spokesman said.

“It seems possible whichever Barry Crocker is upset is potentially wearing cotton underwear and suffering from sweat, chafe and ride-up – something our famous Step One underwear is known to fix for people suffering from this horrible problem.”

The spokesman asked for “whichever Barry Crocker is upset with us” to get in touch “so we can send you a free pair on the house to hopefully cheer you up.”

Crocker’s lawyer Joseph Alesci was not amused.

“Barry Crocker is a famous and much loved Australian. He enjoys international recognition,’’ Mr Alesci said. “As a result, he should be consulted about the use of his name in advertising and his name should not be appropriated for commercial gain to flog jocks!’’