Tube campaign that highlighted realities of Brexit banned as it was deemed too sensitive

Part of an advertising campaign aimed at luring businesses to cross the Channel after Brexit that has been banned from London Underground stations. Picture: Normandy Development Agency/PA Wire.

An advertising campaign aimed at luring entrepreneurs and businesses to cross the Channel after Brexit has been banned from tube stations.

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The ad urged entrepreneurs worried about the UK’s withdrawal from the EU to “vote with their feet”.

It was commissioned by the Normandy Development Agency, which promotes economic growth in the region in northern France.

Part of an advertising campaign aimed at luring businesses to cross the Channel after Brexit that has been banned from London Underground stations. Picture: Normandy Development Agency/PA Wire. Part of an advertising campaign aimed at luring businesses to cross the Channel after Brexit that has been banned from London Underground stations. Picture: Normandy Development Agency/PA Wire.

But Transport for London (TfL) refused to run the ad because it “did not fully comply with our advertising guidelines”.

TfL does not allow images or messages which “relate to matters of public controversy or sensitivity”.

Part of an advertising campaign aimed at luring businesses to cross the Channel after Brexit that has been banned from London Underground stations. Picture: Normandy Development Agency/PA Wire. Part of an advertising campaign aimed at luring businesses to cross the Channel after Brexit that has been banned from London Underground stations. Picture: Normandy Development Agency/PA Wire.

The Normandy ad featured a mock-up of a fictional newspaper with the headline: “British business owners can now vote with their feet and leave post-Brexit fears behind.”

The campaign, created by London-based creative agency Splash Worldwide, will still run in national newspapers in the coming days and will be displayed on a bus touring Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Manchester and London.

Herve Morin, president of Normandy Regional Council, said: “Brexit gives Normandy a unique opportunity to welcome British businesses who decide to stay at the heart of the European Union.

“The Brexit deal might not happen tomorrow, but British entrepreneurs are given the choice to decide for themselves if they want to expand their companies in Normandy.”