This ad sparked fury on social media.

Richard Staveley’s team sparked a social media storm in 2015 when people accused the Protein World of being sexist and “body shaming” with its “Are You Beach Body Ready?” adverts.

They were eventually banned from the London Underground and Mr Staveley left the company and most recently launched a new campaign for the V24 Shot — a 60ml protein drink, The Sun reports.

The adverts show a blonde woman in a black crop top exposing her toned stomach next to the words “Think Small”. Just days after the posters were put up on the London Underground, social media users slammed them, claiming the strap line “insinuates that a body should be small”.

Bethan Staton tweeted: “Your garbage ads are triggering 4 ppl w/ eating disorders & damaging 4 all women who r sick of being told to be tiny. I’ve reported you [sic]”.

Some said the advert “insinuated a body should be small” while one Twitter user labelled the campaign “damaging”. Body positivity campaigners called for the people to deface the adverts — in the same way the Protein World ones were two years ago.

Megan Crabbe, aka Bodyposipanda, tweeted: “F*** thinking small. F*** filling our public spaces with body shame. F*** profiting from our insecurities. F*** diet culture.” One social media user tagged Mayor Khan, asking: “Weren’t you putting an end to these ads on [London Transport]?”

Others stuck up for the advertisers, with one stating: “This is about the convenience of concentrated protein that is easy to carry around unlike the huge bags of whey that you see. Get over it!” Another said: “It’s not body shaming They are just suggesting a body type that some people may like.”

This ad sparked a major backlash in 2015, prompting London Mayor Sadiq Khan to ban “body shaming” subway and bus ads. Picture: Rex Features/australscopeSource:Supplied

Richard Staveley, right, launched the V24 Protein Shot advertising campaign with creative director Warren Steyn, left, and businessman Ciaran Greenwood.Source:Supplied

The marketing team replied to some of the tweets claiming that the reasoning behind the campaign is because “our product is small and creates big results”. The advertising campaign was created by Mr Staveley, creative director Warren Steyn and businessman Ciaran Greenwood.

V24 Shots contain a 24g dose of collagen protein in a 60ml form which is dairy, gluten, fat and sugar free and is 97 calories. Defending the advert, Mr Staveley said: “The strap line is a deliberate play on the traditional notion of ‘thinking big’.

“We have released a shot that contains 24g of protein in only 60ml, which under most circumstances would be acknowledged as small. The model is a fit, healthy and strong female and we’re proud she is fronting this campaign. ‘Think Small’ refers to the size of the bottle.”

It comes after Protein World was recently cleared over an advert featuring Khloe Kardashian. The posters on the tube promoting the brand’s 30-day weight loss plan show the reality star drinking a shake along with the words: “Can you keep up with a Kardashian?”

The Kardashian ad attracted 14 complaints that it promoted an unhealthy and competitive approach to dieting but was cleared by the UK advertising watchdog.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission.