An advertisement for Lucozade featuring zombies should be shown by RTÉ only after 9pm, the Broadcasting Complaints Commission (BCC) has recommended. It was suspended completely at the time of the London bombings in July.
The BCC ruled that the advertisement was not suitable for children as some of the scenes were particularly graphic, including the arms dangling, the eyes popping out and the images and movements of the zombies.
Adjudications were issued on 15 complaints, with the commission upholding only one, concerning the Lucozade advertisement.
Catherine Faherty complained the advertisement was extremely unsuitable for children and had been broadcast frequently in the early evening. RTÉ responded that following a number of calls from viewers expressing concern that the images of the zombies were upsetting children, the station's copy clearance committee decided to impose a post-9pm transmission of the advertisement on both channels.
The advertiser said it was never its intention to either offend or upset any viewing audience; on the contrary, the objective was to provide an entertaining and light-hearted perspective of the enjoyment and fun associated with drinking Lucozade.
They chose to feature zombie characters as a metaphor from the world of movie-making for those who are clearly "un-energetic" and "lifeless" and could feel revitalised by drinking Lucozade.
The commission said RTÉ had infringed the advertising codes. The BCC was of the view that children may not be able to discern the nature of the humour of the advertisement, and therefore could easily be frightened by it.
"If one did not understand the humour of the advertisement, or even recognise that it was supposed to be humorous, the tone could be menacing and scary," it said.
Among the other complaints was one made by Angela Farrell, that an advertisement for Village magazine broadcast during the ad breaks on Tonight with Vincent Browne breached advertising codes as it was a conflict of interest.
The BCC rejected the complaint, saying the advertisement complied with advertising codes. It also noted that Mr Browne did not appear in the ad.