Sadiq Khan is cracking down on “unhealthy” body image adverts across TfL properties
London mayor Sadiq Khan will ban adverts featuring unrealistic, or unhealthy, body shapes from next month.
Following up on a pledge from his mayoral campaign, Khan has issued a new advertising policy for all ads submitted to TfL in tube and bus stations.
He has also asked TfL to establish a steering group featuring the firms which run the transport network's advertising spaces, with a remit to monitor its approach to advertising, and keep policy under review.
Last year's controversial Protein World ad was approved by the regulator
Khan said: “Nobody should feel pressurised, while they travel on the Tube or bus, into unrealistic expectations surrounding their bodies and I want to send a clear message to the advertising industry about this.”
Khan's pledge comes almost exactly a year after the UK's advertising watchdog ruled that a controversial "beach body ready" advert on the tube network was not offensive, despite the marketing receiving almost 400 complaints.
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The changes will affect an advertising estate expected to generate more than £1.5bn in revenue over the next nine years, covering spaces on the Tube, Overground, Docklands Light Railway, trams, bus shelters, buses and Victoria coach station.
In March, TfL signed a 10 year deal with Exterion Media to run the spaces on trains and over 400 TfL stations. It is expected to generate £1.1bn over ten years.
Following an August deal, advertising on 4,900 bus shelters will be operated by JCDecaux for the next eight years, and is expected to generate £300m.