A billboard advertising bacon is being dumped after it was criticised for making light of statutory rape.

Photo: Screenshot

An advert for Beehive Bacon on a busy motorway exit in downtown Auckland states: "I'm 15. He's 27. My parents love him. Wake up and smell the bacon."

Photo: Supplied

Advertising firm Contagion created it as part of a campaign with a "wake up and smell the bacon" tagline including: "My kids do swimming, French, piano, ballet and tennis. But we're not competitive"; "The boys will love a vegan fry up"; and "There's an innocent reason he deletes his browser history".

National Council for Women chief executive Gill Greer said the ad was sending the wrong message.

"The age of consent for New Zealanders is 16 - regardless of gender or sex - and so what that's implying presumably is something that is acceptable to parents - but is illegal," she said.

She said the billboard did not reflect family values.

Contagion chief executive Dean Taylor said the firm was devastated the slogan had caused offence and would be pulling it down tonight.

"We thought that might be funny - we've obviously missed the mark - so we're pulling it down," he said.

Mr Taylor said the other billboards would stay in place.

He said the idea of the slogans was to "take the piss" and call out things that were just not right.

Meanwhile, workers at the Beehive bacon factory in Carterton have been involved in industrial action, refusing to work overtime.