A television advert which depicted Santa Claus as a philanderer caused widespread offence, the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland ruled yesterday.
The advert, placed by the Meteor mobile phone provider, featured several photographs of Santa, including one of him in a jacuzzi with two young women and another showing him dancing at a nightclub with the two young women and hugging them.
In the advert the photos were included in a letter to Santa from a man in his 20s, asking him for a Meteor phone "or else", suggesting the photos would be used to blackmail him if he didn't deliver on the request for the phone.
The commercial, which was the subject of a number of complaints, then showed Santa looking over to Mrs Claus with a worried look on his face.
The advertisers stated it was never their intention to cause offence and stressed the advert was targeted at 18- to 35-year-olds, not children.
In its ruling, the ASAI said it considered the Santa Claus character was intrinsically linked with children and Christmas and that the showing of the commercial at times when young children were likely to be watching television had caused widespread offence.
Complaints about a poster advert for Paddy Irish whiskey which featured TV presenter Hector Ó hEochagáin and the words "rebel spirit" were not upheld.
One complainant felt the use of the word "rebel", allied to Mr Ó hEochagáin, was a cynical attempt by the advertisers, Irish Distillers, to target a younger audience.
The ASAI said in its ruling it did not consider the personality used in the advert was of particular interest to minors.