A recent advertising campaign by Channel 4 for its show ‘Naked Attraction’ provoked a backlash on social media, being labelled ‘creepy’ and ‘tone deaf’ amongst other things. The adverts appeared on buses in a number of cities, including those operated by TfL and Lothian Buses, but were swiftly removed again following criticism of the campaign, which included a suggestion the person in the seat above the advert ‘loves being naked.’
Some commentators said it put passengers at risk of sexual assault whilst others raised concerns that children could be sitting in the indicated seats.
A TfL spokesperson said: “We have reviewed the ad campaign and decided that it should not continue to run on our bus network. It will be removed as soon as practicable.” The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) told the BBC it had received 26 complaints about the advert, saying: “Specifically, complainants argue that the ad sexualises members of the public and does so without their consent.”
Reading Buses told the BBC it had specifically asked for the advert not to be placed on its buses, but some had still gone up: “Unfortunately we know that some adverts had already been installed and we are in the process of removing them as soon as possible.”
A spokesperson for First told the media: “We’re sorry for any upset caused by displaying C4’s ’Altogether Different’ advert on our buses. We’re working with our advertising partner Global to ensure they are removed from our fleet as quickly as possible.”
Stagecoach also uses Global for on-bus advertising. The operator said: “Advertising on our buses is outsourced to media company Global. Separate to the decision by Transport for London, we contacted Global and insisted that this particular advert is removed from any of our vehicles as soon as possible.”
Other operators, including Lothian, also acted quickly to remove the offending advertising. A spokesperson for Channel 4 said that it was not its intention to cause offence and apologised if it has done so.
