Ad was part of campaign to encourage Londoners to intervene if they witness sexual harassment or hate crime
A Transport for London (TfL) ad featuring a black teenage boy verbally harassing a white girl has been banned for “perpetuating the negative racial stereotype about black men as perpetrators of threatening behaviour”.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the “irresponsible” ad – which was the subject of a complaint – featured a “harmful stereotype”.
TfL said the ad was one of three that ran on Facebook, each a cut down section of a two-minute film, called Would you know how to act like a friend?, part of a campaign to encourage Londoners to intervene safely if they witness sexual harassment or hate crime on the public transport network.
The company, which runs the capital’s transport network including the underground and bus system, said the other two shortened ads showed a white man committing a hate crime against a black woman, and a white man committing a hate crime against another white man.
