The series of ads were created by HHCL & Partners. One showed a man eating sandwiches and saying "I need something filthy". He goes in to what appears to be several sex shops and asks for a Pot Noodle, only to be greeted with a slap across the face, but eventually he gets hold of the snack. Another ad shows a man directing a porn film where the actress eats a Pot Noodle.
As well as complaining about the use of the word "slag", viewers were upset at the ads' sexual innuendo, especially at times where children could view them.
The Independent Television Commission received a high number of complaints about the ad within days of it first screening, and ordered that it only be shown after 9pm.
Further research showed that a majority of women found the word "slag" was either fairly of severely offensive.
While the advertising agency argued that the term was referring to the product, rather than an individual, the ITC disagreed. It has now said that all versions of the advertising using the word "slag" must be withdrawn, but has said that the ads using the red light district theme could be shown after 9pm.
A re-edited version of the ads, featuring the endline "sounds dirty and it is", has now been shown.
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