The first ad, shows a young girl and her mother sat at their kitchen table while the Cactus Kid stands in the doorway. The young girl’s voiceover explains how the mother “turned white” and called the Cactus Kid a “freak” when informed of her pregnancy.

The couple then run from the house and speed away in a car while on screen text states “For people who don’t like water.”

Among the 32 complaints, eight viewers said the girl appeared to be a minor and therefore the ad condoned underage sex, eleven said the ad condoned teenage pregnancy and another six objected that the ad had been inappropriately scheduled because it could be seen by children and young people.         

Ten objected that the ad suggested Oasis is a substitute for water and disparaged good dietary practice.

The second ad shows the couple at a diner and features a voiceover saying “this old gal Kerry tried to push a couple glasses of plain old table water on us.  I asked her just as nice as I could to find us some Oasis, 'cos Cactus Kid would no sooner try and milk a she-wolf than touch him a glass of water” and repeated the on screen statement featured in the first.

In its defence, Coca-Cola Great Britain argued the character of “Cactus Girl” is a young woman of 20 while the actress who plays her is 22, adding that the ad was not intended to be harmful or offensive.

The drinks giant adds the ads do not encourage people to substitute Oasis for water but promote choice for times when people prefer a fruit drink. The company adds scripts are not based on scenarios where water is drunk and then rejected, adding that the “Cactus Kid” character’s preference for Oasis is not because he dislikes water but because he wants something with a fruity taste.

The advertising watchdog, upholding all complaints, says viewers are likely to see “Cactus Girl” as in her early teens due to her youthful appearance and voiceover and therefore reference to her pregnancy is “offensive and inappropriate”, adding the ad could be interpreted as condoning underage sex and teenage pregnancy.

The ASA adds the line in the first ad “don’t mess around with no water” suggests water is being rejected and, while acknowledging the ad did not suggest Oasis was healthier than water, it does imply the drink could be a replacement for water.

In its judgement on the second ad, the ASA says it did show a rejection of drinking water and therefore suggests Oasis, a drink containing sugar, could be a replacement for water. The watchdog concluded the ad is irresponsible and could discourage good dietary practice.

Last month, Coca-Cola ended the campaign after a majority of a viewer vote chose the “twist” ending that sees the Cactus family escape scot free.

Despite the controversy surrounding the ads, the campaign helped double brand awareness from 16 per cent pre-campaign to 35 per cent to date with an increase in spontaneous awareness from 9 per cent to 22 per cent, according to Millward Brown.