A TV commercial for Nude Scanner 3D which showed naked images of women has been banned in the U.K. after several viewers complained against the advert while it was exhibited during a show in prime time.

The Independent reported that Nude Scanner 3D is a prank application for smartphones which is used to fool people that one can see them without clothes, with the help of the mobile phone app. The voice over in the commercial says that they mobile phone app will allow the user to see what people look like without their clothes on.

The commercial uses photographs of a nude woman while pixelating her crotch areas and breasts only. The rest of the body is shown as it is. Moreover, the commercial was shown during Hollyoaks, a popular soap on Channel 4 that comes on air at 6:30 pm. That is how the commercial attracted huge attention, most of which did not go in favour of it as there were reportedly several people who complained against the commercial.

Jesta aka Jamster, the company that is responsible for designing the app, was forced to take the commercial off air as it allegedly made several viewers furious. In a report which the Advertising Standards Agency published, 26 viewers reported against the commercial, while 21 of them were concerned that the commercial was shown at the wrong time on TV.

Consequently, it was ruled by the ASA that the commercial was not suitable for children. At the same time, it was also believed that the commercial showed gender bias against women by demeaning them. As a result, the commercial was banned from broadcasting. The ASA report also read that viewers might have under the assumption that the photographs of the woman shown in the commercial was totally nude indeed, even though it was made clear in the voice over that the app was meant for making pranks without involving nudity in reality.

Clearcast, the compliance ad clearance agency that approved the commercial, said that images used in music videos or underwear ads are far more risqué than the ones used in the commercial.