Gary Lineker has been forced to put on his underpants for a new marketing campaign after London Underground bosses rejected a “teaser” ad because the football-star-turned-TV-presenter was completely starkers.
The ad, for a major retailer due to be revealed on Monday, has already appeared in London’s Evening Standard, but Transport for London was less impressed and booted it into touch.
Despite the fact that the ad spares Lineker’s blushes by only showing his top half – with just a hint of his groan – it has been outlawed because TfL’s guidelines ban any ad that “depicts men, women or children in a sexual manner or displays nude or semi-nude figures in an overtly sexual context”.
The Standard quoted an agency source, who said: “The images were never meant to be provocative. It was a tasteful joke about Gary presenting Match of the Day in his pants when Leicester won the league. We were told the images were suggestive because they went too far down. We respect the decision.”
Transport for London said: “We continually work with advertisers and brands to ensure that all adverts meet our mutual requirements. A slightly amended version of this campaign will run on our network from October 23.”
Still, the furore has certainly given the retail client plenty of free publicity ahead of launch.
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