Our Ref:          FOI-2829-1819

Thank you for your request for information about adverts from July 2016 that did not meet our advertising guidelines.
 
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we hold some of the information you require. You asked for:
 
Since July 2016, TfL has held ‘centrally record[ed] information on rejected advertisements’. I would be happy for the FOI to be limited to the information related to the adverts held on this central record. Information such as the below would be appreciated, but only if it is held on this central record:
 
Name of the advertising company, details of the campaign (including images and text) which was rejected, date of proposal/rejection, any provided reasons for TfL’s rejection, cost of advertising campaign (if it had gone ahead).
 
Advertising on the transport network reaches one of the most diverse, valuable and engaged audiences in the world with our Tube, rail, bus and road network supporting approximately 31 million journeys every day. We do not seek to be a censor and will always seek to work with advertisers and brands to ensure that their advertisements comply with the Advertising Policy before rejecting an advertisement. All revenues generated from our advertising estate are reinvested back into the transport network.
 
Please see the table below that details campaigns rejected by TfL since July 2016, the month and year of their rejection, and the reason for their rejection, based on the TfL advertising policy (seen here: http://content.tfl.gov.uk/tfl-advertising-policy.pdf ).
 
Campaign Dates Reason for rejection
I Saw It Here First Jan-19 2.3 (b)
Ann Summers Nov-18 2.3 (b)
Commuter Club i Nov-18 2.3 (m)
Commuter Club ii Nov-18 2.3 (m)
Avaaz Aug-18 2.3 (h)
Spellbound May-18 2.3 (c)
Intertrader Apr-18 Paused
Go Vegan  Apr-18 2.3 (a) & 2.3 (h)
Saudi British Society Mar-18 2.3 (h)
Business Partners of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Mar-18 2.3 (h)
Saudi British Society  Mar-18 2.3 (h)
School Cuts Mar-18 2.3 (n)
BT Mobile  Feb-18 2.3 (m)
Sunny Loans Feb-18 2.3 (h)
Normandy Jan-18 2.3 (h)
Beauty Bar Jan-18 2.3 (f)
Netflix – Altered Carbon  Jan-18 2.3 (a) & 2.3 (c)
Tube Yoga  Jan-18 2.3 (m)
Bede Gambling Jan-18 2.3 (m)
O2 Jan-18 2.3 (m)
The Only Story Jan-18 2.3 (m)
Kurupt FM Nov-17 2.3 (f)
Spotify Nov-17 2.3 (m)
Tooting Medical Centre Nov-17 2.3 (d)
23 & Me Oct-17 2.3 (m)
Gymbox Oct-17 2.3 (c) & 2.3 (d)
Palestine Mission Oct-17 2.3 (h)
Too Faced Oct-17 2.3 (a)
Flavour Art Sep-17 2.3 (m)
Harley Medical Sep-17 2.3 (d) & 2.3 (m)
Jigsaw Sep-17 2.3 (a)
Platinum Lace Bar Sep-17 2.3 (e)
IT Aug-17 2.3 (c) & 2.3 (f)
Ann Summers Jul-17 2.3 (b)
Coldplay Jul-17 2.3 (l)
Revolution May-17 2.3 (d)
Untitled  May-17 2.3
Animal Aid Mar-17 2.3 (a)
Missguided Mar-17 2.3 (b)
Net-a-Porter Feb-17 2.3 (a)
Superdrug Feb-17 2.3 (a)
Protein World Feb-17 2.3 (b)
Western Edge Films: Prevenge Jan-17 2.3 (a)
Diesel Jan-17 2.3 (l)
Ex on the beach Jan-17 2.3 (b)
Sky, Tin Star Jan-17 2.3 (a)
Logic LQD Dec-16 2.3
Facebook Live, ‘Live Kammie’  Nov-16 2.3 (m)
Nocturnal Animals  Sep-16 2.3 (l)
Joey Barton autobiography Sep-16 2.3 (l)
Art Below Aug-16 2.3 (a)
Grief is the thing with the feathers Aug-16 2.3 (l)
Versace, Dylan Blue Jul-16 2.3 (b) & 2.3 (d) & 2.3 (f)
Sausage Party  Jul-16 2.3 (b)
Sky, Fortitude Jul-16 2.3 (a)
Suicide Squad ii Jul-16 2.3 (a)
Suicide Squad i  Jul-16 2.3 (a)
Kidzania Jul-16 2.3 (l)
 
We do not hold information on the cost of the campaign as this information is not given to us when the campaigns are passed on to review – we solely review campaigns against our advertising policy.
 
In addition, we are not obliged to provide copies of rejected images because they are subject to a statutory exemption to the right of access to information under section 41 of the FOI Act (information provided in confidence).
 
In this instance the exemption has been applied as disclosure of the information you have requested would breach our agreement with our media partners including Schedule 15 of our Advertising Partnership Agreement (APA). The information is not in the public domain and there was no suggestion in the APA that the information would be made public. Rejected advertisements and previous versions of amended advertisements are not images owned by TfL. Copy referrals are deemed to be Reserved Information under Schedule 15 of our APA with our media partners. Therefore we consider that disclosure would constitute an actionable breach of confidence.
 
Since section 41 confers an absolute exemption, it is not necessary to consider whether the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. Even if section 41 did not confer absolute exemption, there would be no special public interest in disclosure of this information that would justify a breach of confidence in this case.
 
In accordance with the FOI Act we are also not obliged to supply copies of rejected images as this information is subject to a statutory exemption to the right of access to information under section 43(2).
 
In this instance the exemption has been applied as disclosure of the information you have requested would be likely to harm our commercial interests.
 
Whilst we recognise that there will be some interest in the rejected images, we consider that even if the disclosure did not lead to action for breach of confidence, it would damage our commercial interests and our ability to engage with advertising companies in the future. We do not consider that there are any other strong public interest factors in favour of disclosure.
 
The use of s43(2) exemption is subject to an assessment of the public interest in relation to the disclosure of the information concerned. Whilst we recognise the need for openness and transparency by public authorities, in this instance the release of the requested information would have a detrimental effect on our ability to negotiate, therefore adversely affecting our potential to secure value for public money. This detriment outweighs the general public interest in disclosure of the requested information.
 
If this is not the information you are looking for please feel free to contact me.
 
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

Yours sincerely

Gemma Jacob
Senior FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London
[email protected]