Watchdog swears by burger image

A Burger King campaign suspected by consumers of using "king" as a reference to a swear word has been cleared by the advertising watchdog. (Getty Images)

A Burger King campaign suspected by consumers of using "king" as a reference to a swear word has been cleared by the advertising watchdog.

The three posters and an internet ad drew 52 complaints for using the phrases "King tasty", "King delicious" and "King great". Burger King said it was "surprised and disappointed" that the campaign had caused offence.

The Advertising Standards Authority acknowledged that some readers might infer that the word "king" also represented a swear word.

But it concluded that it was "unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence".