The ad, created by Flint Creative for Dennis Publishing, featured two men pretending to kiss to encourage their girlfriends to leave them as a promotion for the free supplement called "Maxim's little black book".
Nine viewers complained that it was inappropriate to show two men kissing on-screen during the day or early evening. However the advertising watchdog said that the "kiss" was clearly not real because one of the men used a hand to cover his mouth before the kiss started.
There were complaints about scantily clad women in the ad, but the ASA responded by saying that the women in the magazine were carefully covered and the images were not explicit.
Maxim said it categorically did not provide a dating service, because no money was exchanged and no solo reader dates set-up. The "little black book" was a supplement in its April issue that showcased 101 girls and that some Maxim readers were given the chance to meet the girls by contacting the magazine and explaining why they should get the chance to do so.
The Advertising Standards Authority said it was satisfied that the book was a dating service rather than a competition, but said this was not made clear in the ad.
"It gave the impression that viewers could text and date the women directly. We also consideed that by claiming '101 of the sexiest girls... that you can text and date' the ad implied a date was guaranteed to everyone who took up the offer," the ASA said.
The ASA said that the ad was in breach of the Cap TV Advertising Standards Code for misleading advertising and must not be shown again in that form.
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