London mayoral hopeful Tessa Jowell pledges to tackle 'sexist' adverts Published duration 12 August 2015

image copyright Facebook image caption Many of the posters on the Tube were defaced or doctored online in protest

London's mayoral hopeful Dame Tessa Jowell has promised to crack down on advertising campaigns like the "Are you beach body ready?" posters if elected.

Her pledge comes after the Protein World adverts on the Tube featuring a woman in a bikini provoked protests.

Labour candidate Dame Tessa said she wanted to get rid of "overtly sexualised" and "unrealistic" images.

The Advertising Standards Authority ruled the Protein World campaign was not offensive or irresponsible.

However, the ASA said the campaign would not be able to run again because of questions over health and weight loss claims made by Protein World about its products.

'Conscious of responsibility'

A spokeswoman for the ASA stressed: "We are sensitive to concerns about body image in advertising more widely."

Dame Tessa's proposal - as part of her women's manifesto - has been criticised by advertising trade bodies.

She said she developed it because she wants to "help women have the body confidence to focus on their talents rather than their tummies".

A spokesman said she envisaged tightening the existing framework rather than intervening on a case-by-case basis.

TfL's advertising guidelines already prevents the promotion of images of women in an "overtly sexual context".

A spokeswoman said: "We are very conscious of our responsibility to ensure that advertising on our network remains appropriate," adding "hundreds" of adverts were rejected or amended every year.

Sexism definition queried

It also pointed out it was already reviewing its guidelines in the wake of the reaction to Protein World's advert.

And Ian Barber, communications director for the Advertising Association, told BBC London: "There's an independent regulator to make sure ads are socially responsible, but ultimately a media owner like TfL can choose whether or not to carry an ad."

"It's worth remembering ads on the Tube aren't just selling things - revenues from advertisers contribute billions to the network, which is good news for travellers."

Ian Twinn, of the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers, also objected saying it was "not clear" what Dame Tessa meant by "sexist", adding: "Is she asking for obesity to be normalised?"