New ad sites are signs of the time

The Diary is shocked to hear that Somerfield, the supermarket group that once changed the name of its Gingerbread Men to “Gingerbread Persons” in a fit of political correctness, is to start advertising on street signs.

The supermarket chain is teaming up with Mediasign Marketing in a trial in the North-east town of Redcar. If the idea takes off, maybe brands could choose which signs they want to advertise on. Durex could have “hump in the road”, while Shoe Express would use “no entry” as no-one ever does. The Labour Party, of course, would have No Left Turn, while Sainsbury’s will plump for “Old People Crossing”, due to its ageing customer profile.