Copenhagen bans ads for flights, cruises and fossil-fuel cars

Copenhagen will ban advertising for flights, cruises and petrol and hybrid cars at bus shelters and in the metro, DR reported. A majority of the city council approved the measure on Thursday evening, saying it is intended in part to reduce air pollution.

The ban will apply to specific products and services, not to individual companies. Copenhagen Municipality co-owns the Metroselskabet, which operates the metro, so advertising for the restricted products will not be allowed there.

Karoline Lindgaard, political leader of the Alternative party in Copenhagen, called the decision an important step. She said the advertising promotes flights, cruises and new petrol cars as symbols of freedom and a good life, while the consumption also contributes to climate change and air pollution.

Communications and branding expert Sune Bang cautioned against overstating the ban’s impact. The municipality cannot control advertising in public spaces it does not own or rent, and advertisements may reach people through other channels, he said. Similar restrictions in Amsterdam and Edinburgh have not shown a real effect, in his assessment; he described them primarily as a political signal.

Lindgaard said the ban would affect a significant number of advertisements and argued that it was inconsistent for the city to work to reduce carbon emissions while making public spaces available for advertising that encourages people to emit more.

Enhedslisten, the Socialist People’s Party and the Alternative party proposed the measure. The Social Democrats and the Social Liberal Party also supported it, ensuring its passage.