"It's like someone has said in a meeting 'We're hard up, the lanes are blue, let's go to Barclays'. Awful. As a cyclist myself, I'll do everything I can to avoid them. Why it has to be 'sponsored' is beyond me."
A spokesman for the bank said:
"The strategy is to have really strong branding on the bikes and across the whole scheme, and all the communications are clearly branded with Barclays."
At the same time, some members of London's cycling community
have criticised the branding for being heavy-handed:
"If this is true, exactly how does it work? How is Barclays getting any kudos from this. And then the all too-painful truth hit me. The superhighways are being painted the Barclays blue. Please, someone, tell me this is not true? Or is this the start of a new trend. Virgin will obviously get the red bus lanes and why stop at roads? Morrison’s can have the amber lights, Lloyd’s the green ones. There are endless possibilities: road crossings will have to change their name from Pelican to Penguin so that they can be sponsored by the chocolate bar, and only destinations on road signs that can support advertising will be repainted when they fade.
It’s Boris’s big plan: London is for sale. Silly me for not realising it. Or someone please tell me that the superhighway blue is a coincidence?"
http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/news/1019546/Barclays-defends-branding-London-cycle-hire-scheme/
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