The ad faced a significant amount of backlash on social media.
An advertisement for the Channel 4 dating show Naked Attraction has been removed from London buses following a number of complaints.
The ad, which is plastered to the side of a double decker bus, consists of a series of arrows pointing to seated passengers on the upper level.
Attached to the arrows are labels which read: “Loves Naked Attraction”, “Hates Naked Attraction”, and “Loves Being Naked”.
The ad is a promotion for the upcoming season of the show, which sees contestants select a potential partner based on their naked body rather than their face.
Transport for London, Channel 4 and the Global Media Group all attracted backlash after images of the ad circulated online.
Taking to Twitter, writer Tracy King labelled the ad as “creepy”.
https://twitter.com/tkingdot/status/1432300760822333443
She wrote: “What the hell is this creepy bus ad? You can’t just label non-consenting passengers like that. Does @Channel4 not know how many sexual assaults take place on buses?
“In general, you have to be very careful of adverts that include the public without their consent, and that goes double for public transport. Passengers shouldn’t have to navigate ‘am I the butt of a joke on my way to work today.'”
She added: “The bar shouldn’t be this low but can ad agencies perhaps start with ‘does this concept afford the bus user dignity, privacy and autonomy?'”
In response to complaints on social media, a TfL spokesperson said that the advertisement would be taken down as soon as possible.
They said: “We work tirelessly to ensure public transport is a safe environment for everyone, and any report of sexual assault or inappropriate behaviour is investigated and treated extremely seriously.
“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.”
