PeoplePerHour's Tube ad said 'you do the girl boss thing' — the ASA called it patronising

In November 2019, freelance marketplace PeoplePerHour ran an ad on the London Underground showing a woman with the text: 'YOU DO THE GIRL BOSS THING. WE'LL DO THE SEO THING.'

Nineteen complainants told the UK's Advertising Standards Authority the ad perpetuated harmful gender stereotypes — depicting a woman running a business in a patronising way and implying women weren't technologically skilled enough to handle their own SEO.

The ASA agreed and banned the ad in January 2020, ruling that calling an adult woman a 'girl boss' implied a female boss was a novelty, 'playing at their role,' and less serious than a man in the same position. PeoplePerHour acknowledged the ad could read as sexist, removed the word 'girl,' and apologized publicly.