Nike has apologized for a footwear ad featuring an attack on a kungfu master which was banned by China, saying it only intended to emulate the Hong Kong martial arts movie heroes of the 1970s.

China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television on Monday ordered stations nationwide to stop broadcasts of Nike's "LeBron James in Chamber of Fear" ads that it said had sparked anger and offended "national feelings."

In the advertisement, James, 19, a forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team, makes easy work of animated enemies including a white-haired kung fu master, two women in traditional Chinese garb and a pair of dragons as he ascends the video game-like levels of the "Chamber".

"Nike expresses a deep apology to Chinese consumers for their concerns about LeBron James in the 'Chamber of Fear' advertisements," Nike said in a statement received by China Daily on Thursday.

"The idea of the advertisement came from Hong Kong's Kung fu movies of the 1970s. Nike hoped it could encourage Asia youth to face their fears in basketball."

The television administration had said the advertisement aroused "strong public indignation" by violating rules that stipulated "all ads broadcast on television should protect national dignity and interests and respect the motherland's traditional culture".

Nike's sports ads in China this year date back to January with up-and-coming basketball player Yi Jianlian. Double winter Olympic champion Yang Yang also appeared in an ad released in February.

Brazilian and Portuguese national soccer teams were featured in an ad in June and China's first Olympic male track and field gold medallist Liu Xiang was used by Nike to say that taboo can be broken eventually.

Nike ads featuring James and resembling graffiti last month provoked controversy and protests in Singapore. About 50 people wrote to complain that the city's usually immaculate bus stops had suffered acts of vandalism after 700 of the posters went up, media said.

(Agencies)