An ad featuring a man angrily telling a woman they could afford a deposit on a house if she ate fewer avocados has been cleared following complaints it trivialised domestic violence.

The television ad for credit score app ClearScore in June showed the man taking an avocado seed out of a recycling box and, appearing to be shaking with rage, saying: “What’s this? We’re saving for a house deposit in London, not splashing the cash on avocado.”

Appearing frightened, the woman replied: “I know, but since using the ClearScore app I’ve been tracking all our finances in one place so, eating an avocado just made sense,” leading the man to calm down.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received 35 complaints the ad trivialised domestic violence and was likely to trigger negative emotions for those who had been victims.

ClearScore said the symbolism of the avocado was well reported in the media and commonly understood by the general public, and the ad played on the suggestion that millennials were unwilling to compromise on lifestyle for longer-term financial benefit.

They added it voluntarily removed the ad from broadcast but stood by its opinion the ad did not breach any rules.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said it consulted with Refuge, a charity providing specialist support for women and children experiencing domestic violence, which advised that economic abuse and coercive behaviour was often achieved by controlling finances, instilling fear and questioning spending.

Deciding against upholding the complaints, the ASA said: “By the end of the ad the woman was clearly not distressed and had resumed looking at her phone in a nonchalant manner while the man abruptly dashed off.

“For those reasons we considered that the majority of viewers would view the man’s behaviour as silly, absurd or over the top.

“While the ad might be distasteful to some viewers, it was unlikely to cause undue distress for, and serious offence to, victims of domestic violence.”