AAMI has been forced to withdraw an aggressive outdoor advertising campaign taking aim at personal lines competitor NRMA Insurance.

The Advertising Claims Board (ACB) ruled for the ads to be withdrawn on the basis they contravened the Australian Association of National Advertising code of ethics.

The prominent ads appeared last year in suburban newspapers and on buses and bus shelters in northern Sydney, carrying the tag line “It’s unlucky if you’re with NRMA”.

The ACB ruled the ads misleading or likely to be misleading and inclusive of misrepresentation likely to cause damage to the business or goodwill of a competitor.

NRMA Insurance spokesman Sue Hawkins welcomed the board’s ruling. “We encourage healthy competition but expect people to play by the rules,” she said.

An AAMI spokesman told insuranceNEWS.com.au the insurer accepts the decision and had already moved to withdraw the ads prior to the ACB review.

“AAMI at all times endeavours to abide by advertising laws and will take the board’s decision into account in its future advertising campaigns.”