Talking to mad.co.uk, a spokesman for ASA said: “The Council considered that while some viewers may have personal objections to any portrayal of same sex kissing, there is nothing in the content of the advertisement that would constitute a breach of the advertising code.”

Furthermore, the ASA also added that although the ad had not been aired around children’s programmes due to regulations around food deemed to be high in fat, sugar and salt, (HFSS), if it had there would still not have been any reason to investigate the complaints.

As an independent body, the ASA is tasked with upholding standards in all media by being a customer focussed, best practice regulator.

Three quarters of its Council is made up of representatives from the general public, with the remainder consisting of unrelated ad industry personnel.

The ad in question is the first major work for Heinz since creative agency Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO took control of the company’s £12 million advertising duties in the UK last September.

ASA’s statement comes after Heinz pulled the ad from its terrestrial, satellite and cable scheduling four weeks early, through its media agency Vizeum, after citing “consumer concerns”.

The American Family Association, a powerful Christian group in the US, was among the voices pressuring the company to stop running the ad, which it claimed featured “a homosexual family and two homosexuals kissing”.

An email call to action by the group read: “We suggest you forward this to all your family and friends letting them know of the push for homosexual marriage by Heinz. This ad is currently running in England, but no doubt can be expected in the US soon.”

Meanwhile, in the UK, gay rights group Stonewall and Gaydar Radio claimed Heinz’ decision to bow to peer pressure and pull the campaign because some people were offended by a same-sex kiss represented a direct insult to their way of life.

Both called for gay consumers and their friends to stop buying Heinz products and buy alternative products instead.

A group of Labour MPs also signed an early day motion led by BBC One’s This Week political commentator Diane Abbott calling for the ad to be reinstated.

Heinz spokesman Nigel Dickie told mad.co.uk: “We are a global, family company and it is our policy to listen to consumers. Some people were offended by the ad so we decided to withdraw it.”

On its website, the ASA notes the UK advertising industry is admired around the world for its creativity and the standards it sets in successful self-regulation.

To watch the ad and have your say, click here.