More than a few people have raised objections to the way the Mayor of London has, for the relatively modest sum of £5 million a year for 5 years, given Barclays bank the right to paint large swathes of London’s public highway in its corporate shade of blue, have its name emblazoned on street signs and plastered over the 6,000 new hire bicycles that will be hitting the streets tomorrow.
If you sign up for the bike hire scheme (for £45 a year) you’ll get a special key (costing £3) that you will use to release the bikes from their docking stations. Like the streets, the signs and the bikes, the key comes with some Barclays corporate branding. Fortunately, it is rather easy to remove – with just a scouring pad and a little elbow grease. At least you can prevent the corporate takeover of the London’s streetscape from extending into your own pocket.
Before:
After:
Photo: Richard Pope (Creative Commons – Attribution | Share Alike)
5 responses so far ↓
1 prj45 // Jul 29, 2010 at 6:05 pm
Yay!
2 Garry // Jul 30, 2010 at 9:22 am
SO how are you going to remove the ‘Chubb’ off you other keys and the ‘Apple’ off of your computer?
3 ubercurmudgeon // Jul 30, 2010 at 11:25 am
Out, damned spot! out, I say!
4 ubercurmudgeon // Jul 30, 2010 at 5:21 pm
Boris has defended the Barclays involvement:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10821751
Apparently Barclays have “stepped up to the plate” to “do something for wider society.” So it is charity then. Funny, when people solicit for charitable donations on the street, they usually give you a sticker with their logo on it for you to wear on your lapel, if you wish. Not the other way round.
5 Ray // Jul 31, 2010 at 6:24 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSSpugVNQD4
Thanks for the X-Ray Spex reference.
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