The campaign, developed by St Luke's for the Department for Education and Skills, has been running since August.
In the ads, the gremlins taunt and tease adults who have been shown up for having gaps in their education. The problem with the ads is that they began appearing during daytime TV and were watched by small children, who were frightened by the creatures.
The ITC received 13 complaints from viewers who said their children, up to the age of five, had been scared by the campaign and some even had nightmares.
There are two executions of the ad, one that had been toned down for daytime viewing, where the gremlins are less aggressive, however, the ITC ruled that both ads were unsuitable for daytime viewing and will now have to be run after 7.30pm.
The ads, which feature Warwick Davis, who starred in 'Willow' and as Professor Flitwick in 'Harry Potter', have been hailed a success, despite their poor scheduling.
In a report in The Times, a DfES spokesman said the ads were supposed to be shocking and had helped to boost the number of courses signed up for by as much as 470,000 people had signed up for adult learner courses as a result of the campaign.
In the UK, 7m adults have literacy skills below that of an 11-year-old. The government is attempting to address this issue with a drive to help 750,000 adults pass the National Literacy test by 2004.
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