Tube Buskers Need New Sponsor

Bye bye Carling, Hello.....???

Who's going to be clever/brave/mad/stupid enough to take on the sponsorship of the London Underground's official buskers now that Carling's contract has ended?

From TfL's recent press release "Passengers travelling on the Underground from January 2007 will notice that the familiar half moon Carling branded busking pitches have been replaced network-wide by new LU designs." I must have been walking round with my eyes shut as this has only just struck home with me - which possibly shows I pay more attention to the busker than the sponsor.



With the shadow of the Carling half moons
Apparently scheme has over 356 buskers entertaining millions of commuters each day on around 30 pitches in about 20 stations and providing over 3,000 hours of entertainment each week.

Steve Lewis, TfL's Contracts Manager, Advertising & Sponsorship said of the busking service: "It will remain managed in house until a suitable sponsor is selected to help this unique and successful initiative to keep on flourishing and developing."

So who would you like to see sponsoring the buskers? I would love to see them sponsored by Simon Cowell or the X-Factor / Idol franchise. Whatever TfL are asking for in cash would be pocket money for Cowell. If they had interactive screens behind the buskers, they could be hooked up to a sensor to make Cowell scowl or give his famous toothy grin depending on whether money was donated or not.

And if you ever thought about giving up the day job you can apply to be a Tube busker here. Which makes me wonder what songs are guaranteed to get buskers the most money? Years ago Q tested this out and Wonderwall made it to the top. Perhaps I can get a friendly busker to carry out a similar experiment.

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Tuesday, January 16, 2007 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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