It is the responsibility of the industry to exercise self-restraint in order to secure advertising freedom in the future

Lord Borrie

The ASA described it as "one of the most flagrant and deceitful breaches of the Codes ever seen".

There was also a 50% rise in the number of complaints about internet adverts at 750.

A complaint about a text message sent to mobile phones was also upheld for the first time.

And complaints about direct mail increased by 51% to 3,106 last year.

ASA investigated more than 800 of these complaints, said its annual report.

Taste and decency

Most of the complaints were about misleading claims but 20% were about taste and decency.

More than 90% of the complaints were from members of the public rather than other companies.

Lord Borrie QC, ASA chairman, said: "If advertisers, or agencies, feel inclined to excuse themselves from a breach of the Codes on the grounds that `only one person complained', I would urge them to think again.

"The success of the system, which is watched carefully in both Brussels and Whitehall, will be judged on complaints and not complainants.

He said the industry had to exercise self restraint.