These days one could query whether TfL is getting drunk on beer. But its not what things quite seem to be! Despite a ban on alcohol TfL certainly takes on a bold stance when it comes to the question of advertising things that have apparently been banned by the organisation. In this latest collab which does not even advertise alcohol, TfL has shown another way of going about this. With Heineken earlier this year, that was for a drink which contained no alcohol. With this latest collab jointly with Guinness once again a prominent advertising campaign has been undertaken on the London Underground.

In this latest London sees its first ever black and white (reverse tone) tube maps. One could say TfL and the tube is these days seeking a much bolder life – but whether that’s ‘Boldness brewed perfectly’ – remains to be seen in the light of the controversy that has surrounded TfL’s previous gigantic tube advertising campaigns. This latest advertising is for Guinness’ new premises recently opened in London’s Covent Garden.

The latest is that Tottenham Court Road has been commandeered for Guinness advertising. Station maps as well as some station roundels and station identifiers have been changed to represent the colours of the famous Irish stout.

Tottenham Court Road goes for black and gold colours in the latest TfL collab. Darkness never looked so creative!

The Guinness labelling was intermittent along the platforms. No Burberry or Green Planets! Its a correct measure of ‘Strength, flavour, perfection!’

What shall we do with the drunken tube passenger? Let’s try and confuse them with these reverse tone tube maps! Darkness never looked brighter!

Even the station’s escalators have digital advertising in the form of Guinness! Raise a glass to greatness!

Entire corridors at Tottenham Court Road are inGuinnessniously converted in order to enthral those huffin and puffin their way through! If they can do that – toucan too!

When is a puffin not a puffin? When its a toucan! ‘Celebrate the extraordinary!‘

If one looks carefully a couple of toucans can also be spotted! These iconic birds were first used as part of Guinness advertising in 1935. Its a surprise to see these being used stoutly in 2026 for this latest bout of advertising!

The sign for Exit 4 Charing Cross Road has a toucan too! The black on the bird’s glass its carrying represents the Northern line below and the white on the top represents the glass surround station exits. inGuinnessnious!

Anyone too can do a negative (reverse tone) tube map like TfL have done at Tottenham Court Road. The station’s ticket hall has his full Northern line system map which stoutly competes with the Central and Elizabeth line for prominence – that’s ‘For the bold at heart!’

The station’s gatelines have Guinness all over them! What’s that in the distance? Its a large sign that says ‘This way to the home of Guinness.’

‘This way to the home of Guinness’ viewed full on. Look closely and you too can spot a toucan! Doubtless Guinness is the ‘Icon of daring’ when it comes to campaigns such as this!

The Guinness/TfL collab at Tottenham Court Road station most certainly does not directly advocate or promote the drinking of the famous stout itself. No doubt its within the organisation’s guidelines. The collab is in fact publicity for Guinness’ new Open Gate brewery in London’s Covent Garden. The new venue was opened in December 2026 and its the fourth such venue following the example of similar ones established in Dublin, Baltimore and Chicago.

Some will wonder why Covent Garden is not mentioned as it is the nearest to Guinness’ new London home. Covent Garden tube station has a small make-over to signify that it is the ‘home’ of Guinness in London. This entails a handful of roundels being replaced with a similar Guinness style example to that used at Tottenham Court Road station. However Tottenham Court Road remains the major advertising node for the new Guinness venue because it offers potentialities that Covent Garden station does not. For example the lengthy passenger subway to/from the Central line (which has been made over completely) plus a vast ticket hall area which can carry advertising more effectively that at Covent Garden station. Not only that, Tottenham Court Road station being London’s busiest station (and the UK’s 4th busiest), it would be silly not to advertise there.

Covent Garden station is featured in a follow up – Guinness minimalism at Covent Garden.

Guinness Open Gate Covent Garden London.

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Note re Equality and Disability:

Some disabilities may well be inconvenienced by this advertising for example the negative look tube maps. However its TfL’s right to do what they deem is warranted and they will probably indicate they had carried out an EIA prior to the advertising being implemented. On Tuesday 10th January TfL released a new page which among other things, explains their commercial partnerships and this contains a section covering disabilities. TfL indicate they very clearly carry out EIAs before every commercial collaboration is undertaken and they say ‘Accessibility – embedded at every stage of planning and delivery, so no customer is disadvantaged.’

TfL’s explanation of what goes on prior to undertaking commercial partnerships:

Embedding and evolving accessibility in everything we do – Even small visual changes can impact customers differently, so this is why accessibility considerations are built into every stage of our work. Following the Burberry activation at Bond Street, which created some unintentional customer confusion, we reviewed and improved our approach.

Since then, we have: Developed a Master Customer Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA). Created in consultation with: Independent Disability Advisory Group (IDAG), Disability Campaigners, Our D&I team. This EQIA sets out principles we follow for every activation to minimise unintended impact.

Completed station-specific EQIAs for each partnership. These consider: Station layout/ customer flow. Expected customer groups. Sensory considerations. Nature of the brand activity. Potential risk areas. Clear mitigation plans.

Become committed to continuous improvement. Every activation is a first: a new brand, a new idea, a new location. We review feedback after each activation and apply learnings to the next. Accessibility is never an afterthought. Every activation is designed with everyone in mind, putting the customer first, every time.

Source: Made by TfL Blog.

Updated 11th February 2026.