The distracted boyfriend meme is sexist to both men and women, Sweden’s advertising watchdog has ruled.

The country’s ombudsman, Reklamombudsmannen, said that an advert by a software company using the viral image treated women as “sex objects” and portrayed men in a “stereotypical” light.

The body made the ruling after receiving complaints from the public when the company Bahnhof repurposed the popular meme for a job advert in April.

The company defended its actions saying that the image was well-established and that they had used it to portray the feeling someone, who was not enjoying their current job, may have about moving to a more attractive employer.

The photograph, which was originally taken a professional photographer Antonio Guillem from Barcelona, depicts a boyfriend walking with his girlfriend and becoming distracted by another woman wearing red.

Originally intended as stock image, the photo rose to prominence on social media last year after people started overlaying it with text to represent different scenarios of jealous or longing.