Piccadilly Circus, 1930s. The Guinness clock was fake, and the site is dominated by Bovril

More than 30 years after it was first switched on, the Sanyo panel at London’s iconic Piccadilly Circus will soon be replaced by Hyundai. The Sanyo name first sparkled into view back in 1978, and in the following decades it has become a background fixture in millions of tourist snapshots that have been seen all over the world.

The Piccadilly Circus billboards provide an interesting commentary on the changing fortunes of brands and economies over time. Up until the 1950s, it was British brands that dominated the site. Bovril, the beef stock based drink that is a favourite with pensioners across the UK occupied a prime position for many years. The then-famous Guinness clock (which wasn’t even a proper clock for the first 15 years) could be seen at the Circus for four decades until finally making way for more glamorous advertisers towards the late 60s. Bovril, Guinness, Wills & Scissors Gold Flake cigarettes were out – Cinzano, Gordons, Max Factor and Ferrero were in. Coca-Cola would move in during the mid-fifties and never leave, and can now be regarded as the Grand Old Lady of the Circus.

Mid-1950s. Coke moves in

By the end of the 70s, middle class alcohol and FMCG names were rubbing shoulders with exciting technology brands with exciting technology names. Over the ensuing decades the Circus would act as a roll-call of the great and the good in electronic engineering of one form or another: TDK, Fujifilm, Kodak, Panasonic, Sanyo, LG, Vodafone and Philips all competed to outshine their neighbours with increasingly elaborate installations. The exception in this group is Sanyo, which has stuck with the same neon strip light rig since 1987, staunchly ignoring the digital craze surrounding its simple red and white creative. But at a site worth about £2m a year, it’s easy to appreciate that being a beacon for neon in the age of LEDs is an expensive folly.

Early 1970s

 Piccadilly Circus 1985. Technology brands take over.

Today’s Piccadilly Circus has displayed news headlines, ballet performances, football scores and personal messages. It was obviously time for Sanyo to go and no doubt Hyundai has great plans for its new glitzy West End residence. But as the neon chapter comes to a close in what is perhaps the most famous advertising landmark in the world, part of the magic of Piccadilly Circus passes with it. While millions of tourist holiday snaps over the years have featured the same trademarks and logos in the background, the constantly shifting LED murals of the modern circus mean that no two photographs of this famous ad landmark will ever be the same again.

Perhaps I’m just a romantic at heart.

100 years and 50 brands later, Sanyo is the last neon survivor of Piccadilly Circus

*The neon lights have been turned off on occasion, usually for local difficulties like the Second World War, or the death in the royal family. I’m well aware of this, please don’t write in.