Religion, tax-evasion and violence top list of ad complaints

By Jennifer Hill

LONDON (Reuters) - Consumers complained about a record number of adverts last year -- including those of a gay association, government department and fashion giant.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received complaints about 12,842 adverts during 2006, its annual report showed on Thursday.

That was a record number, although the number of overall complaints actually fell, by 14.5 percent to 22,429.

Religious offence, violent imagery and same-sex kisses dominated the top ten most complained-about ads of the year.

An advert by the Gay Police Association -- picturing a Bible to highlight religious motivation behind homophobic incidents -- was the most maligned.

It attracted 553 complaints, with people finding it offensive to Christians and discriminatory in tone.

A national press ad from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) was the second most complained-about advert, receiving 271 complaints.

It depicted what appeared to be a self-employed plumber evading tax by hiding under the kitchen sink, and complainants said it implied self-employed people were tax-dodgers.