Not every battle against mobile phone marketing is won.
Here's a new road sign that's just appeared beside the A12 Blackwall Tunnel Approach road (close to Bromley-by-Bow tube station, outside my local supermarket). Sigh. This is what six million quid a year buys you. Not just a Teflon-coated millennial structure, not just a station on the tube map, but your company's name emblazoned across an official government roadsign. The signwriters have even gone to the bother of writing the chemical symbol using the mobile company's chosen typeface, and not the Department of Transport's official font. No doubt O2's marketing team are delighted at prostituting themselves even further into the East London consciousness. They may not be quite so happy with the squashed hedgehog logo - presumably they'd have preferred the "unique ergonomic form" of a Motorola Z8, or something similar. But they'll be happy enough.
There's no mention on the sign that visitors still have more than 2 miles to drive, nor that queues are likely through the Blackwall Tunnel and they might miss the start of their chosen gig, nor that they'll be expected to fork out an exorbitant £20 for parking once they arrive. Drivers don't need such important information, it seems, they just need to be reminded which phone network to use. I may not have a car, nor any desire to spend £150 on a ticket to see the Rolling Stones, but I'm still going to have to look at this branded monstrosity every time I go shopping. At least until O2 plc goes bust, or gets renamed after its parent company, or finds something better to spend its marketing budget on. Here's hoping.