A television advert for US fast food giant Burger King in Costa Rica will have to be withdrawn after a government agency ruled that it could encourage hired killings in the country. ( dpa )
The advert, also broadcast in the United States, shows three mothers calling in a hitman to get rid of the company's character "the king," blaming him for their children no longer eating home- cooked food.
Jose Retana, national director of Control and Information at the Interior Ministry, told the daily La Teja on Friday that such adverts could promote an unsafe environment, with hired killings already on the rise in Costa Rica in recent years.
The advert was produced in the United States and has also been broadcast in Latin America.
The state National Institute for Women had already asked the government to take measures against it, on the grounds that the commercial was offensive for the dignity of women. The advert was withdrawn from television Wednesday.
Burger King may yet appeal the ban.