BHF and Pot Noodle top ASA's complaints table.(British Heart Foundation, Advertising Standards Authority)(Brief Article)

A charity ad featuring a woman with a plastic bag over her head to draw attention to the plight of heart victims was Britain's most complained about print campaign last year.

The Advertising Standards Authority ordered a halt to the British Heart Foundation's national press and magazine campaign, created by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, after 315 people complained that it posed a risk to children who might suffocate if they tried to copy it.

But it was food and drink manufacturers who aroused the most controversy in 2002. The number of complaints made to the ASA about their ads soared by 175 per cent over the previous year.

The trend is reflected in the list of the most complained about ads of last year, published this week by the ASA in its annual report.

Of the top ten, almost half were from food producers.

Unilever Bestfoods, in particular, created a storm with its 'slag' advertising for Pot Noodle through HHCL/Red Cell. A poster campaign that dubbed the product ...