Sanyo sign to go from London's Piccadilly Square as LED technology takes over

Add to My Stories For tourists emerging from Piccadilly Circus Tube station, the dazzling lights of the advertising billboards above are the first sign that you've arrived in one of central London's most popular spots.However, one of the oldest signs on the junction's famous wall of neon is about to become a victim of progress.The iconic red and white Sanyo sign, which has been in place since 1978, is being removed. The Japanese electronics company has been told to replace the sign with a more modern LED display, which allows for moving images.

Sign of the times: While other adverts have incorporated moving images, the Sanyo sign has remained staticThe sign, which stretches to 340 square feet, will be replaced with another video-enabled advertisement after the owner of the space requested a more technologically advanced advert.'The owner of the ad space wanted to change the neon sign to LED for thecoming London Olympics, but we didn't feel the need to change it for economic reasons,' a spokesman for Sanyo told the Daily Telegraph.

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The flashing advertising board, which lights up the corner between Shaftesbury Avenue and Glasshouse Street, is the closest thing London has to New York's Times Square. The decision by Sanyo is likely to spark a bidding war for the lucrative spot.Advertising experts estimate that the West End tourist site catches the eyes of around 56 million people a year, with the celebrated image also being reproduced on post cards and images.
Electronic signs first began appearing at the site in 1908, when water company Perrier lit up their advert. Sanyo added their logo to the corner space in the late Seventies! , alongs ide companies such as BP, Skol and Coca Cola.In 1987, Sanyo innovated and replaced the billboard with a neon sign. The same one remains in place today. However, other companies have introduced moving images to their adverts, leaving the Sanyo sign as the only one to rely just on neon lights.