| Transport for London advert banned for harmful racial stereotype Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 10:03, 18th February 2026 |     |
From the BBC:
TfL advert banned for harmful racial stereotype
TfL confirmed the shortened advert would no longer be used
A Transport for London (TfL) advert has been banned for reinforcing negative stereotypes about black males, the UK's advertising regulator has ruled.
TfL's Act Like a Friend campaign encouraged passengers to safely intervene if they witnessed sexual harassment or a hate crime on the transport network. Its Facebook advert showed a black teenage boy who verbally harassed a white girl on a bus, while another white teenage boy sat close beside her and boxed her in.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that the clip "featured a harmful stereotype, was irresponsible and likely to cause serious offence". TfL confirmed that the Facebook advert would no longer be used in its campaign.
The ASA was alerted to the advert after a viewer complained that it was irresponsible, harmful and offensive for perpetuating negative racial stereotypes about black teenage boys.
TfL told the ASA that both teenagers in the clip intimidated the victim and behaved offensively.
The ASA said the advert depicted a black boy verbally harassing a white girl, and although another white boy appeared in the clip, "the ad did not show him as jointly intimidating the victim" and "the only aggressor in the ad was the black teenage boy".
The advert was one of three short social media videos taken from a two minute film. The other versions showed a white male committing a hate crime against a black woman, and a white male committing a hate crime against another white male.
TfL claimed that an average Facebook user would have typically been shown a mixture of the three adverts approximately three times, and estimated that the chance someone was only shown the cut down at the centre of the complaint was about 2%. However the ASA maintained that viewers may have only seen the advert in isolation.
The ASA said it "understood there was a negative racial stereotype" associated with black males and threatening behaviour and "assessed whether the ad reinforced that stereotype." It concluded that, when viewed alone, the advert "had the effect of perpetuating a negative racial stereotype" and was therefore "irresponsible and likely to cause serious offence". The ASA ruled the advert could not appear again in the form complained about and told TfL to avoid repeating harmful stereotypes in future campaigns.
A TfL spokesperson said: "Our aim is to ensure that our advertising reflects London's diverse population and does not perpetuate any stereotypes, just as we ensure that our services are as fair, accessible and inclusive as possible. We're sorry that this social media advert – a shortened version of the full two-minute advert that includes a diverse range of ethnicities – falls below our usual high standards when viewed in isolation."
The social media adverts ran a week after the full film was shown in cinemas and on ITVX. Posters were also displayed across the transport network.
TfL confirmed the shortened advert would no longer be used
A Transport for London (TfL) advert has been banned for reinforcing negative stereotypes about black males, the UK's advertising regulator has ruled.
TfL's Act Like a Friend campaign encouraged passengers to safely intervene if they witnessed sexual harassment or a hate crime on the transport network. Its Facebook advert showed a black teenage boy who verbally harassed a white girl on a bus, while another white teenage boy sat close beside her and boxed her in.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that the clip "featured a harmful stereotype, was irresponsible and likely to cause serious offence". TfL confirmed that the Facebook advert would no longer be used in its campaign.
The ASA was alerted to the advert after a viewer complained that it was irresponsible, harmful and offensive for perpetuating negative racial stereotypes about black teenage boys.
TfL told the ASA that both teenagers in the clip intimidated the victim and behaved offensively.
The ASA said the advert depicted a black boy verbally harassing a white girl, and although another white boy appeared in the clip, "the ad did not show him as jointly intimidating the victim" and "the only aggressor in the ad was the black teenage boy".
The advert was one of three short social media videos taken from a two minute film. The other versions showed a white male committing a hate crime against a black woman, and a white male committing a hate crime against another white male.
TfL claimed that an average Facebook user would have typically been shown a mixture of the three adverts approximately three times, and estimated that the chance someone was only shown the cut down at the centre of the complaint was about 2%. However the ASA maintained that viewers may have only seen the advert in isolation.
The ASA said it "understood there was a negative racial stereotype" associated with black males and threatening behaviour and "assessed whether the ad reinforced that stereotype." It concluded that, when viewed alone, the advert "had the effect of perpetuating a negative racial stereotype" and was therefore "irresponsible and likely to cause serious offence". The ASA ruled the advert could not appear again in the form complained about and told TfL to avoid repeating harmful stereotypes in future campaigns.
A TfL spokesperson said: "Our aim is to ensure that our advertising reflects London's diverse population and does not perpetuate any stereotypes, just as we ensure that our services are as fair, accessible and inclusive as possible. We're sorry that this social media advert – a shortened version of the full two-minute advert that includes a diverse range of ethnicities – falls below our usual high standards when viewed in isolation."
The social media adverts ran a week after the full film was shown in cinemas and on ITVX. Posters were also displayed across the transport network.
