UK comedian Photoshops poster to hilariously sidestep censors

Censorship can lead to some funny designs, even when there isn’t a comedian involved. So when the person being censored is a standup comic, we could only expect an entertaining response.

Posters advertising Ed Gamble’s London tour dates fell foul of Transport for London’s (TfL) ban on junk food advertising because they featured a hot dog in reference to the title of the show, Hot Digitty Dog. The comedian has found a suitably ridiculous solution to allow the posters to be put up on the underground network, and it’s an even better poster design than the original.

In the original poster, which has been used to promote Gamble’s tour around the UK, the comedian and The Off Menu podcast host was pictured with mustard and ketchup on his face and T-Shirt with a hot dog on a plate in front of him. However, TfL said that the hot dog would have to be “removed or obscured” for the poster to be allowed on the London Tube because of an anti-junk food policy.

TfL introduced a ban on junk food advertising in 2019 in a bid to reduce childhood obesity. In this case, the poster is not advertising junk food, but it seems the network’s ban covers any imagery of unhealthy snacks regardless of what is being promoted. Gamble’s solution was to doctor the design to replace the offending banger with a cucumber, perhaps using Photoshop Generative Fill. 

“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,” Gamble wrote on Instagram.

It resulting scene looks particularly incongruous. Cucumber with the mustard and sauce? One fan pointed out on Instagram that the result is an image where the comedian appears to have finished a meal without eating his greens. 

A TfL spokesman said: “We welcome all advertising on our network that complies with our published guidance. Following a review of the advert, we advised that elements would need to be removed or obscured to ensure it 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.”

However some people argue that the ban is hypocritical when brands such as Greggs and Lola’s Cupcakes are allowed to run stores in Tube stations.

For more entertaining censorship, see HBO’s censored movie posters and the California police’s Lego mugshots. Need to censor your own designs? See today’s best Photoshop deals in your region below, or see our guide to how to download Photoshop for more details.