LONDON (AP) – Advertising that promotes an unhealthy body image will be banned on London’s subway network, in a move that signals a backlash against suggestive marketing in public places.
Starting next month, Transport for London will not allow ads that cause pressure to conform to “unrealistic or unhealthy body shape,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan said in a statement.
“As the father of two teenage girls, I am extremely concerned about this kind of advertising which can demean people, particularly women, and make them ashamed of their bodies,” Khan said. “It is high time it came to an end.”
Concerns were raised last year when an advertisement featuring a model in a bikini asked “Are you beach body ready?” The ad promoted a weight loss supplement and prompted 378 complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority last year – one of the most complained about ads in 2015.
The authority has the ability to ban ads that are likely to cause widespread serious offense or harm once they come into public space.