Two outdoor advertisements which some members of the public found offensive, sexually suggestive and unsuitable for children, have been censured by the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI).
The authority upheld complaints against Coca-Cola and Levi's Jeans, and said their advertisements had given rise to "widespread offence".
The Levi's advertisements consist of male and female models wearing Levi's jeans and naked from the waist up. In one, a woman is covering her naked breast with her hand, and in another, a woman is placing her hand on the front of a man's jeans.
Members of the public who complained said the images were "offensive, sexually suggestive and exploitative of young people". They also criticised the siting of the posters at bus shelters and near schools.
The authority agreed with the last point and said this meant the advertisements caused "widespread offence". The company has agreed to review the siting of posters in future to avoid "further confusion or upset".
Levi's responded by stating: "If the girl's hand happened to be in the proximity of the man's crotch, it was just a matter open to interpretation, and in this case for unfounded speculation."
They said the advertisements were shown elsewhere in Europe and no complaints were received.
The complaint against Coca-Cola was against its poster showing a model, naked from the waist up, drinking a bottle of Diet Coke.
A complaint from the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland was among 27 lodged. They said the poster was "very offensive" to the Muslim community.
Coca-Cola said it was not their intention to cause offence. They said the advertisement was about Diet Coke as a "global brand".
"This positioning was built around the fact that Diet Coke is a young, fashionable, sexy consumer product."
Complaints about a Ryanair advertisement which used an image of Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Connell at the recent consistory in Rome, were also upheld.
Added to the image of the two men are speech bubbles with comments about how low the airlines fares are said to be.
The complaints were upheld because the advertisement gave offence on the ground of religion and because the advertising standards code requires that written permission needs to be given by anybody referred to in an advertisement.
Ryanair in a statement last night said: "It was meant to grab attention in a very timely manner, and it pointed out in a comical way the reality that Ryanair offers the lowest fares in UK and Europe."