The TV campaign, created by TBWA\Manchester, promoted the GHD hair styler. In all the ads, the women are praying that they will get a man because of their beautiful hair.
The first ad showed a woman wearing lingerie, sitting on the edge of a bed with beads clasped in her hands. The woman looked upwards and her thoughts could be heard in Italian. On-screen the text read: "May my new curls make her feel choked with jealousy".
Another spot showed a woman lying on a bed with bright light shining through a skylight. She looked upwards towards the skylight and her thoughts could be heard in Swedish. Text read: "May my flirty flicks puncture the heart of every man I see".
In all three executions the text "GHD IV thy Will Be Done" was present at the end of the ads, with the letter "t" appearing as a cross.
The Archdeacon of Liverpool and 22 members of the public objected that the ads were offensive to the Christian faith, particularly the use of the phrase "thy will be done" from the Lord's Prayer and the depiction of the letter 't' as a cross in 'thy'.
A total of 23 people complained about the campaign.
The Advertising Standards Authority rejected GHD's arguments that the phrase "thy will be done" was just a small part of the Lord's prayer and that it was in common usage. It also rejected the defence that it had been using the strapline "a new religion for hair" for seven years.
The advertising watchdog ruled that the ads were in breach of the TV Advertising Standards Code on offence and must not be shown again in their current form.
In its ruling, it said: "We concluded that the eroticised images of the women apparently in prayer, in conjunction with religious symbols such as the votive candles and rosary beads, the use of the phrase "thy will be done" from the Lord's Prayer and the image of the letter t as the Cross of Jesus were likely to cause serious offence, particularly to Christians."
GHD owner Jemella said that it had not intended to cause any offence with the ads.