The Advertising Standards Authority has banned a VSO TV ad because it wrongly implied that all VSO volunteers worked in healthcare and that donations from the appeal would be directed specifically to helping sick babies.

The ASA has told VSO to ensure that future ads do not imply that funds will be used in a specific field if that is not the case.

The ad, created by Watson Phillips Norman, depicts Natasha, a volunteer paediatrician helping children in west Africa, with a voiceover urging viewers to give £2 a month to help save more lives. It was first broadcast in 2011.

One viewer challenged whether the ad was misleading, complaining that it implied all VSO volunteers were doctors and all donations used to help save babies.

VSO defended the ad by explaining that over a quarter of its spending last year was on healthcare work similar to that shown in the ad and therefore the number of health volunteers deployed overseas was not insubstantial. It said the ad deliberately referred to “volunteers” rather than doctors and added that if they showed more types of work in their ads they tended to raise less money.

While the ASA decided that the ad was unlikely to be interpreted as suggesting that all VSO volunteers were doctors, it said it did give the overall impression that all donations would be used in the field of healthcare. It therefore agreed with the complainant that the ad was misleading and breached the advertising code.

Paul Matthews, VSO’s head of individual giving fundraising, said in response to the ruling: "Every day, VSO volunteers are working in hospitals and clinics, sharing vital skills that are saving children’s lives. The ad featured Natasha, a VSO volunteer paediatrician, and talked about her real-life experience in West Africa. The ASA adjudication acknowledges that our advert showed the reality of Natasha’s work with sick children.

“However VSO volunteers do work in many other fields, such as improving education, promoting good governance and helping people develop secure livelihoods so they can work their way out of poverty. We need to raise funds to support all of this important work. The ASA’s adjudication asks us to reflect the breadth of that work in our fundraising and we’ll take those comments on board in future.”