Lineker's ears are real and not the novelty kind sported by Girls Aloud and Russell Brand, who feature in the ad.
Viewers complained about the ad which showed various celebrities including Harry Hill, Ferne Cotton and Billie Piper sitting in class wearing novelty ears sold for charity Comic Relief and replying "ear" to a register that was called out by Stephen Fry.
The only person not wearing false ears is Gary Lineker. When he replies "here" to his name the teacher chastises him for wearing promotional ears and hauls him out of the classroom.
Viewers complained that the ad was likely to condone bullying and was offensive to people with big ears, and particularly distressing to people who had been bullied.
Abbot Mead Vickers BBDO replied on behalf of Walkers and argued that the ad had been intended to raise money for good causes. The agency said that because the theme of Comic Relief 2007 was "big", with the charity producing its biggest red noses, they thought it would be fun to give away free big red ears, and Gary Lineker's ears have been a part of previous Walkers' campaigns.
The Broadcasting Advertising Clearance Centre said they believed the ad was a joke at the expense of Lineker rather than a general negative comment about people with big ears. They said Lineker had a long history of being characterised as having larger than normal ears; a humorous characterisation that he actively encouraged and promoted.
The BACC said the ad used ironic humour to promote the sale of Comic Relief ears for charity. The school children laughed at the teacher mistaking Gary Lineker's ears for Comic Relief ears and that Lineker participated in the joke. At no point did he look distressed by the situation and the scene did not, therefore, depict bullying.
The ASA agreed with the BACC that the ad was in keeping with previous campaigns and agreed that although bullying was a sensitive issue, they would not uphold the 12 complaints made by viewers.
The ASA said it considered the ad was typical of comic sketches shown on TV as part of Comic Relief and was likely to be seen in that context.