One Instagram user joked they would rather see children’s art on the Tube than adverts ‘calling them fat and poor’
Londoners have shared their delight at seeing children’s art replace empty Tube advertising space. ‘Vigilante’ artist Spelling Mistakes Cost Lives, real name Darren Cullen, took his three nieces on the London Underground to showcase their work while visiting the capital.
As part of a “subvertising” quest, Cullen told his 100k Instagram followers that replacing adverts with children’s art is “for the public good”. It involved his nieces drawing pictures of unicorns and whales among designs before they were sneakily put into the Underground’s advertising space.
“[The art] got a great reaction on the Tube, with other passengers enthusiastically pointing out other empty spots to put the posters up,” he wrote. “Although it’s not entirely surprising that most people would rather see children’s art in these spaces, instead of ads for crypto, private healthcare and gambling.”
Cullen gave his followers the dimensions of Tube adverts if they wanted to do similar artwork, and joked about turning in-place adverts back-to-front for use as a canvas. His post has since gone viral on Instagram and accumulated 11.4k likes.
Darren Cullen is a satirical artist, activist and writer who abandoned studies in advertising when he became horrified at the ethical implications involved, according to Artmag. He has recently used his platform to criticise ‘greenwashing’ – the practice of energy companies attempting to appear more environmentally-friendly than they actually are – and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI).
Responding to artwork, one follower said: “We need the Tube to be filled with more art from the kids of London – this is such a cool idea!”
Another person joked: “I would love to see kids artwork on the Tube instead of adverts telling me I’m fat and poor!”
A third added: “This is the most wholesome thing I’ve seen in a long while. So quietly powerful and beautiful. Well done nieces, well done uncle D. Life skills unlocked.”
A Freedom of Information request revealed Transport for London had made £1.82m between April 2024 and March 2025 from running advertising campaigns linked to gambling. This was almost double the previous year.
Last year, Sir Sadiq Khan promised to ensure TfL prohibits the promotion of casinos and gambling websites across the Tube network. However, until the Government draws up a definition, any City Hall policies could be subject to legal challenge.
Currently, TfL rules state that no one aged under 25 can be shown on the advert, while they also cannot portray gambling as a way of living or trivialise the seriousness of gambling. In addition to this, the recent response to a Freedom of Information request stated the annual revenue figure of £1.82m includes adverts for charitable lotteries which are not seen as harmful as betting promotions.
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