The brand had planned to run a TV ad campaign in the UK featuring global brand ambassador Hugh Jackman, best known for playing the role of Wolverine in the 'X-Men' series of films.
However, the ads, created by DDB Paris and entitled 'Tokyo Dancing Hotel' and 'Hard Day's Work', will now only be seeded online in the UK, despite running on TV in other countries.
A Lipton spokesman said: "When Hugh Jackman was announced as the global brand ambassador for Lipton Ice Tea in January, TV was expected to be one of the channels it would feature on in the UK.
"Marketing plans, like all plans, are subject to change and since the announcement, the business has decided to focus budget and effort on online placement of the advert for the first phase of the campaign."
The brand added that the UK had a young target audience and online was therefore considered "a better fit" for the activity.
Jonny Forsyth, senior drinks analyst at Mintel International, cast doubt on the chances of the Lipton Ice Tea brand becoming a success in the UK.
He said: "The product does not make sense culturally in the same way as it does in the US and in other parts of Europe. I think this is mainly due to the British cultural legacy of drinking hot tea with milk."
He pointed out that, despite consistent marketing support over the past five years, the product had failed to make an impact on the highly competitive UK soft-drinks market.
Forsyth said: "The brand is unlikely to get much return on its investment from TV, which is a less targeted and more expensive route, than online."
In February 2009 Britvic acquired the rights to Lipton Ice Tea via a UK bottling agreement with Pepsi Lipton International and now handles marketing for the brand.
Pepsi Lipton International is a joint venture between PepsiCo and Unilever. The latter previously distributed Ice Tea. It retains ownership of the Lipton brand and continues to distribute Lipton Hot Tea in the UK.
Lipton Ice Tea still plans to roll out a UK ad campaign in the run-up to the summer, under the strapline 'Don't knock it until you've tried it'. The brand said that it is considering using TV for the activity.
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