Comedian and podcast host Ed Gamble has been forced to change the poster for his current tour, Hot Diggity Dog, as the original fell foul of London Underground’s junk food ad rules.
A new version of the ad, created especially for Transport for London (TfL), swapped an ‘unhealthy’ oversized sausage for a cucumber.
The original poster showed the Off Menu host wiping his mouth after apparently enjoying a sauce-covered hot dog. However, TfL told Gamble the ad fell foul of its healthy eating rules, as it does not allow foods high in fat, sugar and salt to be advertised across the network.
A spokesman said that, following a review of the advert, it had “advised that elements would need to be removed or obscured to ensure [the ad] complied with our policy”.
“A revised advert is now running on the network and we are always happy to work with people to ensure adverts follow our policy.”
Gamble made the switch from a hot dog to cucumber to get the posters on display across the capital.
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Posting on Instagram, Gamble described the incident as a “career highlight”.
He added: “TfL told me I couldn’t have a hot dog on my poster to promote my Hackney Empire shows in June. I guess I’m dangerous? So I’ve replaced it with a cucumber. Eat your greens, kids.”
The ban on junk food advertising across across London’s public transport network – which includes on buses and in bus shelters – was first introduced in 2019 after being bought in to help tackle child obesity rates in the capital.
A promotional poster for West End show Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding, has previously been banned for featuring an ‘unhealthy’ wedding cake, because it was considered to promote “foods high in fat, salt and sugar”.
The rules have faced criticism for being too restrictive, despite research estimating the policy has so far directly led to fewer cases of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
