A punctuality ad by Ryanair and the broadcast of an ad for an over 18s film before 9pm are among 13 of 16 complaints upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland's (ASAI) independent complaints committee.

The ads were related to email, social media, online, radio, television and print advertising. The complaints were either upheld, or upheld in part.

The ASAI said the 13 ads were in breach of the ASAI code on grounds relating to health and beauty, nutrition, children and misleading advertising.

In its Complaints Bulletin, the ASAI said that one complaint related to intra industry/interested party complaints, and it was upheld. This was in relation to a complaint that Aer Lingus made against an advertisement by Ryanair, which it claimed was misleading.

The television advertisement in 2018 stated that Ryanair was No. 1 for punctuality. In its complaint, Aer Lingus said the advertisement was inaccurate and misleading, and should not be used again.

In its response, Ryanair said that it requested the punctuality from the Dublin Airport Authority for the previous five years from which they had calculated the average annual punctuality.

In its conclusion, the ASAI said that as there were no plans to air the advertisement again, "no further action was required".

Other complaints that were upheld include one against Universal Pictures Ireland, on the grounds of 'Decency and Propriety'.

The complaints were in relation to two advertisements for ‘Halloween’, an over-18s film, that were shown on Virgin Media channels before 9pm. The complaints stated that the ads were not suitable for family viewing time.

As part of its response, the advertisers said that the ads were not broadcast during programmes considered to be family-orientated or targeted at children.

In its conclusions, the ASAI said that the content of the ad was "likely to frighten and disturb young viewers", and that it should not have been aired before 9pm.

It ordered that the ad not reappear in its current form.

Another complaint related to a social media advertisement by Four Star Pizza, which the Irish Heart Foundation claimed was irresponsible by making fun of a balanced diet.

The text on the post stated: "Doctors recommend a balanced diet. So put pineapple on your pizza and you're good to go [winking emoji]".

The IHF considered that the content in the social media post "indicated that a doctor’s recommendation was being mocked and by doing so were trying to engage with young people".

The ASAI Executive also asked the advertisers to comment on a second post on its social media page, which featured a person appearing to eat a very large pizza.

The advertisers said that they took their responsibilities to promote a "balanced diet seriously".

The ASAI did not uphold the complaint in relation to the first social media post.

However, in relation to the second media post, it did say that the post was "encouraging excess consumption and was in breach of Section 8.4 of the Code".

The ASAI ordered that both posts either be amended or withdrawn.

Chief Executive of the ASAI Orla Twomey said: "The latest complaints bulletin from the ASAI illustrates our ability to handle complaints across a large number of mediums.

"The ASAI is committed to protecting consumers in relation to advertising, across all mediums and our approach is to work with all advertisers to ultimately ensure that all marketing communications are legal, truthful, decent and honest."