The commercial shows a naked man who has been tied to a tree by his friends as a stag-night practical joke. It promotes Yahoo!'s personal finance services. At one moment during the ad, a man in a raincoat looks lasciviously at the man tied to the tree, and the voiceover says, "You can't trust the kindness of strangers".
The Independent Television Commission has suspended the ad indefinitely after receiving 15 complaints about its stereotyping of gay men. It will be taken off the air from midnight tonight.
It was created by Euro RSCG Wnek Gosper. Euro RSCG is the global advertising network of the internet company, although Yahoo! also retains HHCL & Partners on a UK remit.
The ad was written by Mark Wnek and art directed by Olly Caporn and directed by Rory Rooney through Spectre. The scene is reminiscent of one in the 1977 movie 'The Choirboys', starring Charles Durning and Lou Gossett Jr.
Criticism of the ad follows an outcry over the way the mainstream press has covered two high-profile stories of late -- the changes to adoption legislation and revelations regarding the Royal family and their staff.
High-profile members of the gay community, including the comedian Graham Norton and the businessman Ivan Massow, have criticised the press for the way the stories have been covered.
Norton has also been singled out in a homophobic attack, with a column in the Daily Mail describing the Channel 4 talkshow host as "a mincing freak" and "a bottom-feeding nonentity".
Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has said that "stereotyping and scaremongering about gay people is scarily reminiscent of the way the Nazis demonised the Jews."
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