Six-sheet and 48-sheet posters have appeared at nearly 500 sites around London promoting the paper not for its journalism, but for the fact that readers will not end up with inky fingers.

The four-week campaign targets commuters and follows the completion last month of a 135m, five-year overhaul of Harmsworth Quays the UK's only flexo newspaper plant.

A spokesman for the paper said: "This is unique to us. It's also an advantage because if you are a commuter it is very distressing to get into work with your white shirt or your beige skirt covered in smudges."