A Mars Wrigley ad that shows a topless man and a woman kissing on a bed before being interrupted by her parents has been found to have been "irresponsibly placed".
The Advertising Standards Authority received two complaints over whether the ad should have been placed during a video-on-demand showing of Lego Masters on Channel 4’s All4.
Mars Wrigley said that after receiving a notification about the complaints it asked Clearcast to apply a scheduling restriction to the ad but the body believed it was not necessary because the scene showed a consenting couple kissing on a bed.
The ASA ruling explained: "We considered that the ad did not contain any sexually explicit content, but that it was sexually suggestive and that some viewers may therefore have found it distasteful for general viewing.
"We also considered that younger children would be less able to understand the scenario than older children, and that the sexual nature of the ad made it unsuitable for them.
"We considered the ad should not have been placed around VOD programming that was likely to be viewed by young children. We therefore concluded that the ad had been irresponsibly placed and breached the Code."
The work was created by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO and MediaCom handles the Mars media account.
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