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Paddy Power has decided to destroy its latest controversial billboard advert, which bore a picture of a smiling Rolf Harris along with the caption: "The only Aussie we don't want to get out" to coincide with the second Ashes Test at Lord's.
The betting firm said the picture of the billboard ad was released by an unauthorised tweet and "although potenteally amusing for the cricket fan," it had decided to destroy the ad because of the "potential to cause offence".
Sadly the same was not true of the other offensive billboard campaigns it has deployed recently, including a distasteful joke about the Calais migrant crisis when they sent a lorry down to Dover with the slogan: "Immigrants, jump in the back! (But only if you're good at sport)".
Last week Roy Keane launched legal proceedings against the firm after it used his face in an advertising campaign.
Show all 10 1 /10Ten adverts that shocked the world Ten adverts that shocked the world Les Droits des Non-Fumeurs A poster from an anti-smoking campaign by Les Droits des Non-Fumeurs
Ten adverts that shocked the world Angelina Jolie and Paris Hilton with no make-up A South American beauty clinic called Xiomara Coronado Beauty Center launched this campaign featuring digitally enhanced images of Angelina Jolie and Paris Hilton, alleging that they'd look that wrinkly in years to come if they neglected their skincare routine
Ten adverts that shocked the world Benetton's Aids sufferer campaign This Benetton advert features a photo of Aids sufferer and activist David Kirby and his family by Therese Frare (1990). The original picture, which won the World Press Photo Award, was published in black and white, but Benetton's advertisers decided they wanted to use a colour version to make it seem more shockingly like a real ad. The ad was designed to raise awareness of Aids and Kirby's family and Frare approved of the photos use. But it provoked a storm of criticism from other Aids activists who claimed the campaign was in some way a vindication of homosexuality
Ten adverts that shocked the world Statutory rape This poster of a grotesquely over-developed child is part of a campaign by ad agency Serve, commissioned by the Family Violence Partnership in Milwaukee, to raise awareness about statutory rape. The tagline reads 'If you see a child as anything more, it's wrong.'
Ten adverts that shocked the world Deutsch Magazine This bizarre advert appears to show a young woman getting intimate with a dog. It was designed to promote a new magazine for jetsetters 'Deutsch Magazine', although quite what the 'international lifestyle' it claims to promote consists of, one might wonder
Ten adverts that shocked the world Red Cross blood M&C Saatchi is responsible for this campaign for the Australian Red Cross aimed at promoting blood donation. The gruesome image of a blood filled donation pot certainly provokes a reaction
Ten adverts that shocked the world Prius murder A spoof campaign for the virtuously eco-friendly Prius portrays three immoral scenes - murder (above), prostitution and adultery- bearing the tagline 'Well, at least he drives a Prius'
Ten adverts that shocked the world Tom Ford's Vaginads Dubbed 'Vaginads' by the media, the campaign for Tom Ford's menswear featured a series of close-ups of naked women with a cologne bottle covering their most intimate parts. Naturally, we couldn't publish such raunchy pictures, but you'll find a variation on the theme above
Ten adverts that shocked the world Fair trial, my arse Bearing the slogan 'Fair trial, my arse,' this Agent Provocateur advert bears a cheeky message. Having teamed up with human rights campaigners Reprieve, the sheer orange undies were part of a wider campaign against the illegal detention of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay
Ten adverts that shocked the world 'We all have aids' Fashion designer Kenneth Cole's 'We all have Aids' ad campaign caused ripples because the posters (see above) so closely resembled normal fashion ads. The tagline 'We're all potential carriers' refers not to the bag the model is brandishing, but to Aid
And last year Paddy Power received a record number of complaints when it released an advert to coincide with the Oscar Pistorius murder trial , offering punters "money back if he walks".
It emerged that the son of the interim Labour leader Harriet Harman was behind the controversial PR stunt.
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