The Barnardo's adverts aimed to raise awareness of child poverty

The Advertising Standards Authority said charity Barnardo's child poverty campaign had received 475 complaints.

Almost 14,300 objections were made in 2003 - a record for the third year running, the ASA's annual report said.

The Barnardo's ads aimed to show not all children are born "with a silver spoon" in their mouths but were banned.

Naked bottom

The ASA concluded the images, which also showed children with a syringe and a bottle of methylated spirits in their mouths, caused "widespread offence".

The series provoked more complaints than any other national press campaign in the watchdog's history.

They were among 1,700 advertisements to be changed or withdrawn in the course of the year.

A poster for Velvet toilet tissue showing a woman's naked bottom prompted 375 complaints, the second highest number, on the grounds it was "offensive" and "demeaning".

NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS TO THE ASA Direct mail - 2,521 Adverts in national newspapers - 2,327 Billboard posters - 2,241 Adverts in magazines - 1,199 Internet advertisements - 1,100 E-mail promotions - 455 Text message marketing - 393

Despite the high number of objections, the ASA eventually decided the poster did not represent a breach of its code.

Meanwhile, the number of people who contacted the ASA about text message promotions soared by more than 500% to 393, up from 65 in 2002 and six in 2001.

It demonstrates the increasing use of e-mail and mobile phone text messages by companies to target consumers.

The ASA, which regulates non-broadcast marketing, also handled 455 complaints about e-mail promotions last year - up from 17 in 2002 and none the previous year.

Ensure compliance

Direct mail sparked 2,521 complaints to the ASA - although the number was down from 2002.

Advertising in national newspapers was the next biggest area of concern, prompting 2,327 complaints, followed by billboard posters with 2,241, adverts in magazines with 1,199 and the internet with 1,100.

The main sectors for objections were holidays and travel, at an all-time high, and the leisure industry.

Complaints about adverts for food, drink and beauty products fell.

ASA chairman Lord Borrie QC said: "The impact of our rulings extends beyond the individual advertiser and... we will not shy away from tackling an entire industry sector to ensure compliance with the Code."