Television watchdogs have ordered internet company Yahoo! to pull its latest advertising campaign off air after complaints that it was homophobic.

The ad shows a naked bridegroom tied to a tree in a stag night prank being eyed up from behind by a stereotypically camp-looking man as a voiceover explains: "You can't trust the kindness of strangers."

The independent television commission took the unusual decision to suspend the ad after considering 15 complaints from members of the public and the gay rights campaigning group Stonewall.

It will be taken off air from midnight tonight.

"We had about 15 complaints that said the ad offended the gay community," said a spokesman for the ITC.

"We then investigated it with the BACC [which pre-vets ads before they are shown on TV] and also had a meeting with Stonewall to talk in general about the representation of gay men and women in advertising.

"Stonewall were particularly offended by the Yahoo! ad. And on further consideration we asked for the ad to be suspended," the spokesman said.

The ITC will investigate the campaign further as part of its routine adjudication reports following all complaints. The process could lead to the ad being banned permanently.

The Yahoo! ad was created by Euro RSCG Wnek Gosper, which also makes ads for Cadbury, Abbey National and Peugeot. It was written by the ad agency's chairman and executive creative director, Mark Wnek.

The decision to suspend the campaign follows criticism about the way gay men and women are portrayed in the media.

Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has likened the "stereotyping and scaremongering" about gay people to the way the Nazis demonised Jews.