Today, we’re very pleased to announce that our Joint CEO, Marty Davies (she/they) has been appointed to the Mayor of London’s Advertising Steering Group (the Group) which oversees the implementation of Transport for London’s (TfL) Advertising Policy.
The Group is chaired by Dr Mee Ling Ng OBE. Marty has been newly appointed at the same time as disability, inclusion & accessibility specialist Shani Dhanda and both will be working alongside a number of leading industry figures including Deputy Mayor of Transport, Seb Dance and Chair of ad agency MullenLowe, Tom Knox.
The Group, formed in 2016 with its first meeting in 2017, was established to provide strategic advice and guidance about TfL’s Advertising Policy and to help TfL and its partners to ensure advertisements are responsible and respectful whilst also generating the much-needed revenue to reinvest in the transport network. The Advertising Policy sets out the standards for commercial advertising that will be accepted on TfL’s advertising estate, one of the most significant advertising estates in the world, and is put into practice on TfL’s behalf by its advertising partners.
Marty has been invited to join as an industry expert and LGBTQIA+ advocate. She will be working hard to ensure that the advertising industry follows clear guidelines and promotes a collaborative approach to advertising development. Their goal is to enable and encourage brands to produce advertising that reflects the diverse audience on the TfL network, with a particular focus on the LGBTQIA+ community.
This announcement follows the launch of Outvertising’s Pride month intervention, which has seen 120+ organsaitions support the LGBTQIA+ community by committing to braving an organised campaign of backlash against brands including Trans+ talent in their ads. Organisations have called for brands to back up their inclusion pledges with meaningful action and divesting from media that profit from disinformation.
Marty was also recently appointed as Campaign Magazine’s first transgender columnist. Through their monthly column – A Queer View – Marty will be using this platform to further address the issue of representation in advertising and hold the industry to account for the ways brands and agencies can influence media coverage of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Marty said of their appointment: "It's very important to me that LGBTQIA+ people are usualised in our media. It’s my belief that positive authentic representation of our community will reduce hate speech and hate crime. In England and Wales, hate crime relating to sexual orientation has increased by 126% over the past five years, and 156% for trans people over the same period.
Advertising is one of the most ubiquitous media there is and TfL's advertising estate is one of the most iconic in the world. I hope through my appointment that I can be part of that continued effort to further develop the TfL advertising estate as a place where queer and Trans+ Londoners see themselves. A place where we continue to celebrate our community and drive acceptance."
Chair of the Group, Dr Mee Ling Ng OBE, commented: “I was delighted to welcome Marty Davies to the Advertising Steering Group and look forward to the important perspective they will bring to our meetings with their lived and professional experience. The role of the Advertising Steering Group is to oversee TfL’s Advertising Policy and its application across TfL’s extensive advertising estate. It is really important we have diverse representation on the Group to reflect the diversity of our communities in London.”