Wellington - New Zealand's advertising watchdog has slammed a promotion campaign for a brand of potato crisps, saying it encouraged children to eat the equivalent of a kilogram of fat, news reports said Wednesday.

Bluebird Foods included cards featuring famous rugby players in packets of the crisps and encouraged consumers to collect the full series of 50.

The Ministry of Health lodged a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority, saying that it encouraged excessive consumption of a treat food and that people would have to get at least 50 and probably more than 80 packages - containing at least a kilogram of fat - to get the full set.

Upholding the complaint set a precedent in how foods high in fat, salt or sugar should be advertised in New Zealand, ASA executive director Hilary Souter told the New Zealand Herald.

She said that using children's heroes to advertise alcohol had long been barred, and the latest decision meant that the same principle now applies to food.

The Ministry of Health said that the complaint was made because of concerns about the level of childhood obesity in New Zealand. (dpa)