No Junk Food Here: London’s Ad Rules Leave Popular Comedian With A Cucumber Conundrum

By Alan Hume | Sunday, 31 March 2024 12:00 PM
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No Junk Food Here: London’s Ad Rules Leave Popular Comedian With A Cucumber Conundrum

In a surprising turn of events, British comedian Ed Gamble was compelled to modify a promotional poster for his upcoming stand-up show, "Hot Diggity Dog," due to a violation of the London Underground's prohibition on junk food advertising.

The original poster depicted Gamble, smeared with ketchup and mustard, alongside a partially consumed hot dog.

In response to the directive, a perplexed Gamble replaced the hot dog with a cucumber, which subsequently led to the approval of the poster. Gamble, a diabetic who also co-hosts the "Off Menu" food podcast, expressed understanding for the advertising regulations, designed to combat childhood obesity.

However, he humorously remarked, "But the new posters promote something way more harmful — the idea that cucumbers pair well with ketchup and mustard."

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Despite the initial hiccup, Gamble isn't lamenting the additional attention the incident has garnered. "The posters are making way beyond their value now," he disclosed to the BBC.

The ban on advertising foods high in fat, sugar, and salt, as well as those promoting unhealthy or unrealistic body images, has been in effect on the city's subway trains and stations, buses, and bus shelters since 2019. This policy is enforced by Transport for London (TFL).

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In response to the incident, TFL stated, "Following a review of the advert, we advised that elements would need to be removed or obscured to ensure it complied with our policy."

They further added, "A revised advert is now running on the network and we are always happy to work with people to ensure adverts follow our policy."

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This isn't the first time the policy has caused controversy. Last year, a poster for the play "Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding," featuring a large wedding cake, was deemed non-compliant, leading to the cake's removal from the ad. The policy has drawn criticism from Britain’s tabloid press, with The Sun berating the "killjoy TFL bosses."

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