How TfL Is Celebrating 25 Years of the Brand

Transport for London (TfL) is celebrating its silver jubilee, shining a spotlight on the transport system that is synonymous with getting from A-to-B in Britain's capital. An unlikely source of creativity perhaps, but one that has a rich background in advertising both as a brand and a media owner.

It’s a network that sees millions of passenger journeys made daily, spanning across its breadth of channels from the tube to buses to trams. However, it is an organisation that is still recovering post-pandemic; 2023/2024 data reveals an overall average travel demand of 93 per cent - two percent shy of pre-Covid 2019 - despite its financial reports showing a passenger income of £2.5 billion (up from £2.2 billion in 2022/23). 

So entwined with the culture of London is TfL's red buses and underground that its global talkability as a brand is ever-growing. This isn’t just down to tourism but global licensing too; in 2023 TfL announced a multi-year deal with IMG to expand brand engagement globally, which has allowed brands consisting of Arsenal and Uniqlo access to its extensive poster archive and apparel such as gifts and stationary. 

Its rich history is largely thanks to its highly identifiable roundel – one of the most recognisable logos worldwide. Its backstory obviously heralds from before the formation of TfL. In 1908 was the roundel’s debut year, where it featured for the first time on the station board for what is now known as St James’ Park Station. Its origins saw it known as ‘the bar and the circle’, created to make station names stand out against surrounding commercial ads and billboards on platform walls. Overtime, despite the transport system’s changes in ownership and attempts for change, the iconic blue and red roundel stuck.

“TfL’s icon is one of the most recognisable and loves icons, and one of the most imitated logos in the world,” says Clare Hutchinson, chief strategy officer at VCCP, its current creative agency of record. “A cultural icon that has been adopted by designers and brands like Kurt Geiger, Burberry and Nike.”

To celebrate 25 years, for Emma Strain, customer director at TfL, keeping the brand’s heritage at its forefront is something they want to remain custodians of: “Thinking of the past and huge heritage we have… it’s fantastic to be inspired by but also to look forward and think about.” 

And to do that ‘Making Every Journey Matter for 25 Years’ was born. 

Reinventing The Roundel

Beginning its birthday celebrations for 2025 sees TfL collaborating with VCCP and media agency Wavemaker UK to produce a series of posters highlighting how its moments of innovation and change have helped enhance the lives of its customers across its lifetime.

The ‘Making Every Journey Matter for 25 Years’ posters cover the launch of the Oyster Card in 2003, the introduction of ‘Baby on Board’ badges in 2006, mastering travel for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the launch of the Night Tube service in 2016, and the expansion of the Northern Line to Battersea in 2021.

“One of the great paradoxes of this quarter-of-a-century celebration was that even though TfL is just 25 years old, it has achieved so many great things in such a short period of time,” says Hutchinson. “This was a brilliant opportunity to bring together some of these incredible initiatives and innovations.”

The work also sees collaboration with London-based illustrators Charlie Davis, Eoin Ryan, and Raj Dhunna - all chosen for their style, graphic approach and, of course, their home-grown roots. 

The brief behind such work held heritage at its heart. “We wanted to lean heavily on this heritage: the campaign is inspired by the iconic adverts and posters of years gone by," says Hutchinson.

“A quick trip to the fabulous London Transport Museum will open your eyes to the brilliant and creative ways that has been deployed over the decades. In fact, the unofficial brief that we gave ourselves was to create posters so beautiful that they would earn their right place in the museum.” 

The posters are part of an integrated campaign being run across London in out-of-home, both printed and animated digital formats within the TfL estate, while also featuring on social media. 

The centrepiece to the 25 year celebration is the reinvention of TfL’s iconic roundel, however, this isn’t the first time they’ve done so. “TfL has a long history of reimagining the iconic roundel to celebrate major milestones and anniversaries,” adds Strain. “The most recent being the 160th anniversary of London Underground.”

She continues that the changes see the classic colours swapped for those reflecting the milestone: silver and TfL Blue. “[These] were chosen as the colours for TfL’s 25th anniversary roundel as silver is often used as the colour to symbolise a 25 years anniversaries and TfL blue is our primary brand colour.”

The new design will be featured in future work throughout the year, used in a variety of different ways and moments - but what Londoners won’t see is a change in any of the existing signs.

For Jon Hunter, head of design at TfL, getting the logo correct is an integral part of the campaign – given the importance it plays for recognition. 

“We wanted to go for something which felt more future-facing,” he explains. “We’ve gone for a metallic and chrome effect - something modern, energetic, looking forwards to the next 25 years as well.”

VCCP has been TfL’s creative agency since 2021, having previously been with Saatchi&Saatchi. Its work together is on the up - just last year winning £1 million worth of advertising space across London thanks to Outernet London and the Evening Standard’s ‘London’s Greatest Advertising Competition’. 

“It’s a brilliant relationship,” says Strain. “We work absolutely in partnership and like with every partnership that makes us scratch our heads and think really hard together."

The team at VCCP is in agreement; being able to work on the creatives for the anniversary of such a loved brand is a “privilege for the whole team”, according to Hutchinson. “It’s one of those rare brands that is a cultural icon but that also plays an important role in people’s lives."

The Best of The 25

Throughout its lifetime, TfL is a brand that has produced many campaigns that have caught the audience’s eye. Here are five of the best.

1. 'Welcome Back London'

With the Covid-19 lockdown lifted, Londoners were welcomed back to travel in style.

2. 'TfL London Overground Naming'

After announcing plans to name the six branches of the Overground line, work with VCCP celebrated the city’s diverse history and culture.

3. ‘Tortoise and the Hare’ 

This campaign with Saatchi&Saatchi raises awareness on the risks of not looking before crossing the road.

4. Report It to Stop It 

This campaign aims to increase reporting unwanted sexual behaviour on public transport, with 10 per cent of passengers experiencing it in London but only one in ten reporting it.

5. ‘Get Ahead Of The Games'

Ahead of London hosting the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, TfL shone a spotlight on planning your journeys should travel disruption arise.