A production company is in hot water for filming a bank commercial with topless women wearing nothing but nappies in public, local media reported on Monday.

About 50 men and women wearing large nappies paraded in a closed-off section of Burg Street in Cape Town on Sunday, The Star newspaper reported.

The Cape Film Commission's acting chief of operations, Martin Cuff, said the incident would be investigated to find out how the company got permission to film the women topless.

"We are concerned that a production company has gone ahead with something that has the potential to offend many people," Cuff said.