New London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has pledged to take action against advertisements that promote an “unhealthy” or “unrealistic” body image. From next month, Transport for London (TfL) will prohibit ads that could undermine body confidence, particularly among the young. While the move may affect up to 12k ads on the transport network, the mayor does not believe TfL is targeting young people in particular. It is high time it came to an end. Last year, posters for a diet product from Protein World targeting women asking whether they were “beach body ready” caused controversy when they appeared in tube stations across the capital. 70k people signed a petition against the ads and a protest took place in Hyde Park. Despite this, the Advertising Standards Authority decided that the adverts were “not offensive.”
New London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has pledged to take action against advertisements that promote an “unhealthy” or “unrealistic” body image. From next month, Transport for London (TfL) will prohibit ads that could undermine body confidence, particularly among the young. While the move may affect up to 12k ads on the transport network, the mayor does not believe TfL is targeting young people in particular. Last year, posters for a diet product from Protein World targeting women asking whether they were “beach body ready” caused controversy when they appeared in tube stations across the capital. 70k people signed a petition against the ads and a protest took place in Hyde Park. Despite this, the Advertising Standards Authority decided that the adverts were “not offensive.”