Ad Brake
Back in the day, Messrs Ferodo, purveyor of brakes and related accessories, concentrated much – probably all – of its sales and marketing budget on painting the company name in large capital letters on the sides of railway bridges. Up and down the land. This went on for years, and was pretty smart when you think about it. What bridge owner was going to rush out and re-paint the bridge when your advertising lapsed?
On our Up the Cally walk the other weekend, we spotted this bridge on the Caledonian Road, half way between the new scheme and the old. FERALLY on one side and THEODO the other. 21C streetscape replacing 20th.
Update: Per comment below by Rob Smith, I ought to point out that Rob was our guide on this adventure. He is a qualified Clerkenwell & Islington Guide and a Member of the excellent London guides cooperative, Footprints of London. Many of this august body are London Historians members too.
On my walks I often have people from the Cally asking what Ferodo is, so I’m not sure how effective an ad it was. The new THE CALLY sign is sure to be a thing of local pride, but I can’t help feeling a little sadness that a little link with an old engineering firm outside London has been lost.