Ofcom was drawn into the debate after broadcasters questioned whether advertising by Make Poverty History, which called on people to lobby the government on the issue of third-world debt, fell into the category of political advertising.
The ads featured celebrities such as Kate Moss and Brad Pitt clicking their fingers and were created by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO.
Based on government regulations on the definition of whether or not a body's aims could be defined as political, Ofcom ruled that Make Poverty History fell "squarely within the definition" of having political objectives. This puts it on a par with organisations campaigning on issues such as abortion, immigration law and vivisection, which are also prevented from advertising on TV in the UK.
However, Ofcom appeared regretful about making the ruling, saying in a statement that it could not make exceptions from good and bad politics.
"Ofcom can not differentiate between what some may describe as 'good politics' and 'bad politics'. Rather, Ofcom must, as a matter of law, only look at whether the political advertising rules have been complied with."
Its findings mean that broadcasters that showed the Make Poverty History ad, some of which screened it during non-commercial airtime because they regarded it as a charitable appeal, are in breach of the programme code.
Oxfam's Adrian Lovett, a member of the Make Poverty History coordination team, said he was disappointed with this decision.
"Members of the Make Poverty History coalition went to great lengths to ensure the 'click ad' met broadcast regulations and took appropriate advice before submitting it to broadcasters. This ad simply highlights the fact that a child dies every three seconds because of preventable poverty."
He added that the coordination team would be looking carefully at the implications of the decision for its future activity.
"As world leaders meet in New York for the UN World Summit, it is vitally important that we get across the message that they must go much further in order to make poverty history."
The Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre defended its decision to pass the ad for broadcast, saying it did not consider that Make Poverty History was mainly political in nature and that its main activity was to act as a source of information. The ads were shown in March this year.
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