The Sun advert: featured as a giant billboard ad

A cheeky ad by the Sun gloating about Britain winning more medals than Australia at the Beijing Olympics, using a twist on Australia "Where the bloody hell are you?" tourism, has been banned by the advertising regulator.

The ad featured as a giant billboard on a truck comparing Britain's 19 Beijing gold medals alongside Australia's 14 with the strapline "Where the bloody hell were you?".

One complaint was received by the Advertising Standards Authority that the language in the ad was offensive and could be seen by children.

News Group Newspapers, the News International subsidiary that publishes the Sun, argued that the ad was not offensive and was a "light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek and gentle ribbing of Australia's well-known sporting success".

The ASA noted it was a take on the Australian Tourist Board's controversial ad campaign "Where the bloody hell are you?".

However, the regulator considered the word "bloody" to be a swearword that it was "irresponsible" to reproduce in a medium where children could see it.

The advertising regulator told the Sun not to use the word "bloody" on posters in the future.

In the runup the Beijing Olympics a number of light-hearted bets were made between the British and Australian sports ministers and heads of the respective Olympic associations on which country would bring home more medals.

Britain's sports minister, Gerry Sutcliffe, made a bet with his Australian counterpart, Kate Ellis, that the loser should wear opposition colours the next time the two countries met on the sports field. Ellis duly obliged at the Paralympic Games held in Beijing.