sign of the times

ADVERTISING ON BRIDGE IS PART OF CITY’S HERITAGE AND SHOULD BE KEPT SAYS COMPANY BEHIND BRAND

They are local landmarks that people do refer to and from our perspective we would love to see them preserved for the future. Federal Mogul

BOSSES at the corporation which owns Ferodo say they would like to keep the name on the London Road railway bridge in Coventry for heritage reasons.

The company stopped paying for the advert on the bridge years ago but it was never painted over.

Railway owners Network Rail no longer sell advertising on bridges so bosses at Federal Mogul, which now owns Ferodo, can’t restart the advertising deal.

Federal Mogul regional marketing manager Jonathan Allen said: “Originally there were 12 Ferodo bridges spread nationwide and now there are just two left. “One is in London Road, Coventry, and the other is on the North Circular Road in London. “They are local landmarks that people do refer to and from our perspective we would love to see them being preserved for the future and we are open to suggestions about how we can do that. “Now there are only these two sites left it would be great if we could somehow preserve them for the future. “The advertising started in the 1960s from what I can gather and the adverts were a way of reaching the motoring public via the major commuting networks. “The adverts pre dated the motorway network so the major volumes of traffic were on main roads. “People tended to do maintenance themselves so reaching drivers was important. It was brilliant thinking at that time.”

The company spent almost all of its marketing budget on the campaign.

Now that most car maintenance is done in workshops by professional mechanics Federal Mogul bosses spend their advertising budgets in trade publications.

Back in the 1960s owners of the rail network British Rail used an advertising agency to sell space on railway bridges to companies.

Current owners Network Rail don’t put the space up for sale.

The adverts gradually became part of the urban landscape.

But in recent years local councils with Ferodo bridges in their boroughs have painted over the logo in an effort to make the streets look smarter. The former Ferodo bridge in Camden Road, London, now says Camden Town in smart lettering.

A similar Ferodo Bridge in Caledonian Road in London’s Islington now says The Cally.