Melania Trump language school billboards removed following threat from her lawyers

Americki Institut, Zagreb

A new billboard poster for the American Institute in Zagreb, Croatia

The American Institute confirmed in an emailed statement that the adverts had been removed. In their place are posters with a tongue-in-cheek message referring back to the original: “Invest in your English and billboards. People love a good billboard.”

The original campaign was very successful, American Institute spokesperson Ivis Buric told AP, because of the publicity it attracted. “We are very sorry that the billboards were misunderstood as something intended to mock the U.S. First Lady. It was meant to be something positive, to show her as a role model,” she added.

“I’m satisfied with the fact that the school admitted that they violated the law and that they are ready to remove the billboards and (Facebook) ads,” Pirc-Musar told The Associated Press. “We are still analyzing possible further legal steps.”

Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.