RIO DE JANEIRO - A provocative beer ad showing American celebrity Paris Hilton in suggestive poses has been recast and relaunched in Brazil after having been banned as sexist.

In the new spot, which aired Tuesday evening on the main television networks, the beer itself becomes the star and Hilton's face is seen only for a few seconds.

The Brazilian agency that regulates advertising on Monday blocked the original spot in which the young heiress dances on the balcony of a Rio apartment in a black mini-robe, allowing herself to be photographed by a voyeur in an apartment across the way.

The head of the ad agency responsible for the campaign, Augusto Cruz, said there was "a good dose of humor" in the new spot.

"But I'm also sure there was nothing wrong with the previous one," he told O Estado de Sao Paulo.

Four complaints were filed against the ad, including one by a government women's rights organization which criticized it for its "sexism and lack of respect for the condition of women."

Hilton, heiress of the Hilton hotel chain, took part in the launch of the S$1.647 million ($54-million pesos) ad campaign in February at the height of the Rio Carnival which featured images of young nude women in shackles.