
TfL Official Requested To Digitally Remove Close Overtake Of Cyclist From Suspended $1.3m TV Ad – Forbes
Carlton Reid 30/12/2021
A highly-placed Transport for London (TfL) official wanted to digitally alter a road safety TV advertisement after it was slammed on social media. The ad was removed from TV screens and Twitter in early December. The ad featured a female driver and a male cyclist shouting at each other after the motorist overtook the cyclist dangerously. The pair reconciled, but critics accused the ad of “victim blaming.”
Following a kickback on social media from cyclists and cycling organisations in late November the TfL official emailed the ad’s creative agency saying, “I’m confident that we will be back on air in January [2022].”
“Gutted it’s got to come down,” replied an executive from the VCCP ad agency of London, who went on to say the removal of the 60-second TV advert was “bowing to the minority.” (Ironically, the advert’s strapline was “See their side,” a reference to how road users ought to empathise with others also using the road.)