Armani clothes are worn by some of the world's biggest stars

The advert featured a photograph of a long-haired boy model wearing only a pair of baggy jeans and a necklace.

The Advertising Standards Authority said the model's gender was ambiguous and that the advert for Armani's junior range drew attention to his sexuality.

Orthet Ltd, which holds the brand's licence, agreed to withdraw the advert.

'Offensive'

The image, to promote Armani's Junior childrenswear range, sparked 74 complaints to the agency after it appeared in a magazine.

Some branded it "offensive" because it "sexualised children and encouraged them to emulate adults", while others said it "exploited the child in the photo" or "could encourage paedophiles".

After an investigation, the watchdog concluded that because the advert "sexualised the child" it was "likely to cause serious or widespread offence".

It welcomed Orthet's decision to withdraw the advert but suggested the firm seek advice before advertising again.

Fitness First

In a separate case, the ASA upheld a complaint about a "misleading" statement on a joining fee for gym chain Fitness First.

On the front of a leaflet for the gym it said the fee had been cut from �100 to �20.

But an asterisk next to the �20 linked to a small footnote which revealed a �30 administration fee would apply.

Fitness First denied it had tried to conceal the administration fee and claimed readers were likely to read the whole leaflet, especially when an asterisk was present.

But the ASA ruled that the front of the leaflet had implied the readers could join for �20 only.