Source: Anna Mac Carthy Adams/Facebook

THREE IRELAND HAVE come under fire this afternoon for a billboard ad, which many have called “transphobic”.

The billboard is designed to promote Three’s data plans and reads:

Sorry Vodafone customers, it turned out he was a she after you’d used all your data. Enjoy the finale without the data dread.

While the ad appears to be about running out of data while streaming TV on your phone, many Irish Twitter users have condemned the ad and described it as “transphobic”.

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Great to see #GRBill reach final Oireachtas stage. Disappointing that on the same day we see @ThreeIreland engaging in crass transphobia. — William Quill (@WilliamQuill) July 15, 2015 Source: William Quill /Twitter

Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) was among those to question the ad.

Other people criticised the campaign for treating transgender people like a “punchline” or “joke.”

@ThreeIreland @ThreeCare You know "jokes" like your billboard perpetuate a culture of abuse and violence against trans people, right? — Shane Doyle ꙮ (@ShaneDoyle19) July 15, 2015 Source: Shane Doyle /Twitter

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Yesterday, Three’s customer care account attempted to explain the ad.

@okeeffesimon What could be worse than missing out on the ending of your fav TV show? There’s no escaping the inevitable spoilers these — Three Ireland Care (@ThreeCare) July 14, 2015 Source: Three Ireland Online /Twitter

…with mixed results.

Some people have defended the ad and stated that while it may be poorly executed, it isn’t necessarily transphobic.

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This afternoon, Three Ireland took to Facebook to apologise for any offense caused and explained the concept of the ad.

It’s part of a wider campaign that gives examples of when you can often miss the best bits of TV/films when you’re streaming because you’ve used all your data.

However, it hasn’t exactly gone down well with everyone.

This isn’t the first time a mobile phone provider in Ireland has been accused of transphobia.

In 2012, Meteor was heavily criticised for an ad that TENI said “encouraged a cheap laugh at the expense of trans people”.