Microsoft pulls vomit IE8 ad after public backlash

The insinuation is that her husband had been viewing hardcore pornography on his laptop.

Her husband slips over on her vomit and she proceeds to vomit all over him while Cain steps into the foreground and tells viewers that the woman is suffering from "OMGIGP" or "Oh My God I'm Gonna Puke" syndrome.

Cain, who starred opposite Terry Hatcher in his Superman days, then explains that the situation could have been avoided if the husband had been using Internet Explorer 8, which includes a feature that covers any users' browsing tracks.

The ad, which only ran online, was directed by comedian Bob Goldthwait, who starred as Zed in the 'Police Academy' movies.

There are three other online ads directed by Goldthwaite for the IE8 campaign, including 'Shyness' (Sharing Heavily Yet Not Enough Sharing Still), 'Foms' (Fear Of Missing Something) and 'Gripes' (Gripping Rage Internet Pathetically Extra Slow).

However, 'OMGIGP' was seen as the most controversial.

Microsoft said the 'OMGIGP' ad was intended to be "tongue-in-cheek" and used "irreverent humour".

The software giant said: "While much of the feedback to this particular piece of creative was positive, some of our customers found it offensive, so we have removed it."

Microsoft has pulled the ad from its dedicated IE8 website called Browser for the Better, as well as from its YouTube channel and its ad agency's website, but several versions still remain on YouTube.

The other three ads in the series can be found below.