By Mairead Carey

MOBILE phone chiefs Meteor were left red-faced on Tuesday after the advertising watchdog pulled an ad run by the company which suggested that Santa had interests in women other than Mrs. Claus.

The ad for Meteor’s latest mobile phone showed Santa being blackmailed by someone with photos of Fr. Christmas sharing a Jacuzzi with two young women. He was later seen dancing with the same women in a nightclub.

The ad showed Santa Claus reading a letter from a man who said he “wanted a Meteor phone or else.”

In the ad, Santa gave a worried look over to Mrs. Claus after viewing a photo of himself, hugging the women.

The Advertising Standards Authority has slammed the company for its ad, insisting that the commercial exploited sexuality, was coarse and had undesirable innuendo.

There were a number of complaints about the commercial, which has now been pulled. Those who complained said that Santa was a hero figure for children and was associated with all that was good and innocent.

The authority shared their view, saying Santa was intrinsically linked with children and Christmas and that the showing of the commercial at times when young children were likely to be watching television had caused widespread offense.

Meteor defended its actions, saying it had never intended to offend anyone, and said the ad was aimed at 18- to 35-year-olds.

The authority also slapped a ban on a product called Silent Knight. A television ad claiming that people wearing a silver ring, manufactured by the company, would stop snoring was found to be misleading.

The authority found that the field trials that were submitted, were in fact the results of telephone surveys.