The poster for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals involved the phrase being imposed on smaller recurring text that stated: 'E.coli, mad cow, swine flu, MRSA'.
The words swine flu featured more prominently than the rest and below was the phrase 'Go Vegetarian'.
The advert drew a complaint from a member of the public that it was misleading in implying that swine flu could be caught be eating meat and that it might cause undue fear about how swine flu could be contracted.
In response, the animal rights group claimed it was not intended to suggest eating meat caused swine flu, but rather highlight the role that livestock production played in the incubation, development and spreading of fatal infectious diseases.
They believed the poster made the legitimate case that a reduction in meat consumption, or adopting a purely vegetarian diet, was one of the best ways to prevent the development and spread of deadly diseases that originated from livestock production and meat consumption and which threatened public health.
The group claimed the action by the government to highlight the causes of swine flu would lead to consumers realising eating meat did not cause swine flu.
The tag-line 'meat kills' was also meant to highlight the consequences of livestock production.
The Advertising Standards Agency, however, ruled the ad breached regulations.
The ASA said: 'Although we understood the intention was to refer to livestock and meat production rather than just eating meat, we considered that the message was, at best, ambiguous.
'We considered that some readers might infer from the poster, and in particular the claim 'meat kills' in conjunction with the claim 'Go vegetarian', that eating meat caused swine flu.
'We concluded that the poster was likely to mislead and could cause undue fear and distress to some readers.'
As a result the watchdog ruled the advert should not appear again in its current form.
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