Trivia: Worst branding elements used for a public transport service

[py_megapixel]

Following the thread discussing the Silverlink brand, with c2c also mentioned, I am interested to hear what people think the worst branding used on a public transport service. Names, logos, slogans, liveries and so on can all be nominated.

I'll start by putting forward Lumo's slogan "Travel well, beyond expectations". Whichever way I read it, it doesn't really work in my opinion.

 

[Western 52]

Back in the 1970s we had "This is the Age of the Train ". It could be viewed in two ways, especially as many trains at the time were quite elderly!

 

[Dr Hoo]

I’ve always thought that ‘Nova’ from TransPennine is an epic fail, given that it translates as ‘No go’ in some common languages.

 

[306024]

Let’s get the National Express East Anglia ‘One’ out of the way immediately.

More recently Greater Anglia has quietly dropped ‘Its happening’ before anyone could add a couple of letters to the front

 

[JaJaWa]

• Thameslink 2000 (which was around 20 years late)
• Cumfybus (not elaborating on that one!)

 

[Western 52]

Sprinter and Pacer- both names imply they were fast, but they had a 75mph top speed.

 

[507020]

Cumfybus

I wonder where they run…

Sprinter and Pacer- both names imply they were fast, but they had a 75mph top speed.

Sprinter implies fast acceleration compared to 1st generation DMUs, many of which couldn’t reach 75mph, but surely Pacer implies slow or tread carefully etc!

 

[swt_passenger]

• Thameslink 2000 (which was around 20 years late)

Was anything ever physically branded Thameslink 2000?

 

[py_megapixel]

Sprinter implies fast acceleration compared to 1st generation DMUs, many of which couldn’t reach 75mph, but surely Pacer implies slow or tread carefully etc!

I took it to mean the Sprinter sprints off into the distance while the Pacer ambles along at its own pace. That might not be a good thing if they are working in multiple with each other.

 

[dk1]

Was anything ever physically branded Thameslink 2000?

I’m sure it wasn’t.

 

[JaJaWa]

Was anything ever physically branded Thameslink 2000?

The actual trains weren't branded as Thameslink 2000, but the upgrade scheme which was later renamed to Thameslink Programme was – including a lot of publicity on the route such as posters, leaflets etc. It was very widely mocked as the completion slipped further and further past 2000.

alwaystouchout.com - Thameslink Programme (Thameslink 2000)

 

[GatwickDepress]

I’ve always thought that ‘Nova’ from TransPennine is an epic fail, given that it translates as ‘No go’ in some common languages.

Snopes has an interesting article that disproves this claim, despite appearing as an anectode in countless marketing books and quiz nights:

First of all, the phrase “no va” (literally “doesn’t go”) and the word “nova” are distinct entities with different pronunciations in Spanish: the former is two words and is pronounced with the accent on the second word; the latter is one word with the accent on the first syllable. Assuming that Spanish speakers would naturally see the word “nova” as equivalent to the phrase “no va” and think “Hey, this car doesn’t go!” is akin to assuming that English speakers would spurn a dinette set sold under the name Notable because nobody wants a dinette set that doesn’t include a table.

 

[norbitonflyer]

First. As in "the First train will be the second train", and labelling all the carriages "first" to confuse standard class passengers.

Likewise the 11:20 "one" service to Norwich (or is it the 11:21?)

 

[61653 HTAFC]

First. As in "the First train will be the second train", and labelling all the carriages "first" to confuse standard class passengers.

Likewise the 11:20 "one" service to Norwich (or is it the 11:21?)

I remember all those antimacassars (if that's the word) labelled "Standard Class" which had to be hurried out to all FirstGroup TOCs, simply because at the time FirstGroup had what I call "branding Tourettes" at the time... in that any surface that could possibly have their name or logo on it, would have it- even if it was potentially misleading!

The 175s and 180s were ordered during this period, so it took years for the traces of FirstGroup branding to be fully excised from each fleet. There are probably a few bits remaining even today if you know where to look!


My own nomination is the fleetname of "Arterio" for SWR's 701s. As I mentioned in another thread, I surely can't be the only person who thinks of blood spurts when I see or hear it!

 

[dk1]

Likewise the 11:20 "one" service to Norwich (or is it the 11:21?)

It was almost as embarrassing as the livery. The multi £million transformation & name where set to be binned within a couple of years.

 

[gg1]

Back in the 1970s we had "This is the Age of the Train ". It could be viewed in two ways, especially as many trains at the time were quite elderly!

On the contrary, 1970s trains were by and large very modern. In 1970 virtually every loco and piece of LHCS was less than 20 years old as were all DMUs and the majority of EMUs, I suspect the average carriage age (taking DMUs, EMUs and LHCS together) at the time was less than 10 years, the average age of locos definitely was if you excluded shunters.

 

[43096]

I remember all those antimacassars (if that's the word) labelled "Standard Class" which had to be hurried out to all FirstGroup TOCs, simply because at the time FirstGroup had what I call "branding Tourettes" at the time... in that any surface that could possibly have their name or logo on it, would have it- even if it was potentially misleading!

That’s a good description of it. I’d say it reflected a lack of confidence in their own business such that they felt the punters needed reminding who they were on a regular basis. Virgin didn’t do the same with the Pendolinos.

 

[tbtc]

'We're Getting There" (the BR staipline in the 1980s) could be boasting that you are achieving things or could be an awkwardly modest "we are trying out best" - didn't work well IMHO

But the worst slogan has to be Powells (HCT Group) "Transport Works Better When The Community Drives", which suggests that it'd be better of everyone got in their cars... I know that there's an earnest point in there about how a "community driven" thing can work for everyone but it just sounds like you'd rather people drove themselves - putting it on the side of your buses

It was almost as embarrassing as the livery. The multi £million transformation & name where set to be binned within a couple of years.

The "one" brand was a bad name but I liked the livery concept - one unifying brand but then different liveries for different types of train (in the way that Stagecoach's EMT/SWT used a common colour palette but with distinctive sub-brands so that you knew whether a unit was for a "local" or "middle distance" or "long distance" train - the "one" colour scheme was possibly ahead of its time too - lots go grey with splashes of pink/ mint/ yellow and the clunky big diagonals that National Express used look common on many buses in the 2020s, but this was fifteen years ago (which may be why it went down so badly, in an era of darker colours for trains?)

 

[Dr Hoo]

I’ve always thought that ‘Nova’ from TransPennine is an epic fail, given that it translates as ‘No go’ in some common languages.

Snopes has an interesting article that disproves this claim, despite appearing as an anectode in countless marketing books and quiz nights:

Thank you, @GatwickDepress . I'm not sure that any article 'disproves' what I or anyone else happen to think.

The 'no go' tag used to be applied to the small Vauxhall Nova car, a brand name that for some strange reason was only used in the UK and not in Vauxhall's extensive Spanish-speaking market. Everywhere else the model was known as the Corsa; the name used for UK models as well after a relatively few years. I wonder why.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

It was almost as embarrassing as the livery. The multi £million transformation & name where set to be binned within a couple of years.

I quite liked the livery, though if had lasted longer it probably wouldn't have aged so well- much like Northern Spirit green which screamed late '90s but survived (minus branding) well into the 2000s. The "One" name was utter nonsense though. What are focus groups even for if they can't pick up on obvious potential confusion caused by numerical names?

 

[mlambeuk]

I’ve always thought that ‘Nova’ from TransPennine is an epic fail, given that it translates as ‘No go’ in some common languages.

Actually isn't the term Nova seen as meaning "New" in most Latin based languages?

First groups Transforming travel was a daft slogan

 

[61653 HTAFC]

'We're Getting There" (the BR staipline in the 1980s) could be boasting that you are achieving things or could be an awkwardly modest "we are trying out best" - didn't work well IMHO

But the worst slogan has to be Powells (HCT Group) "Transport Works Better When The Community Drives", which suggests that it'd be better of everyone got in their cars... I know that there's an earnest point in there about how a "community driven" thing can work for everyone but it just sounds like you'd rather people drove themselves - putting it on the side of your buses



The "one" brand was a bad name but I liked the livery concept - one unifying brand but then different liveries for different types of train (in the way that Stagecoach's EMT/SWT used a common colour palette but with distinctive sub-brands so that you knew whether a unit was for a "local" or "middle distance" or "long distance" train - the "one" colour scheme was possibly ahead of its time too - lots go grey with splashes of pink/ mint/ yellow and the clunky big diagonals that National Express used look common on many buses in the 2020s, but this was fifteen years ago (which may be why it went down so badly, in an era of darker colours for trains?)

The Stagecoach white/blue/red thing worked really well at SWT, where it was fairly unusual to find a red train running a blue or white "service". Less so at EMT where the 158s had the "long distance" livery but the 156s and 153s had the blue, despite often cropping up on the same routes.

 

[PTR 444]

Let’s get the National Express East Anglia ‘One’ out of the way immediately.

Just out of curiosity how long did the ‘one’ brand actually last for?

 

[306024]

Just out of curiosity how long did the ‘one’ brand actually last for?

One minute was too long, but as @dk1 says in post #15 a couple of years. I tried to ignore it but my hourly train service at the time was 31 minutes past the hour from platform 1.

 

[317 forever]

Actually isn't the term Nova seen as meaning "New" in most Latin based languages?

First groups Transforming travel was a daft slogan

Yes it was daft. At the time First did seem to be transforming travel .... into a less reliable and enjoyable experience.

 

[Deltafoxtrot87]

That Miles thing from EMR might be in the running I think?

 

[Merle Haggard]

What about the original National Express coaches livery? Consultants charged the National Bus Company an enormous amount of money to come up with the - err - 'livery' - which was to replace the variety of colours around the companies with plain overall white. Hard to keep clean after a romp up a salted motorway, as well.

The 'NATIONAL EXPRESS' fleet name had a basic flaw; the letters were red and blue (what, red, white and blue colours for a national operator - who would have thought of that???) but the red letters faded away. I'm sure that I wasn't the only one to notice that the adjective preceding 'Express' as a result, changed to a very rude one...

 

[Class360/1]

For me, it’s WAGN and SWR’s pigeon mascot. Looks as grey and poor as the service they provide to communities. Miles from EMR also looks quite silly and babyish.

WeAreGoingNowhere

 

[Ken H]

Anything with Metro in it. Surely the most overused name.

 

[mmh]

What about the original National Express coaches livery? Consultants charged the National Bus Company an enormous amount of money to come up with the - err - 'livery' - which was to replace the variety of colours around the companies with plain overall white. Hard to keep clean after a romp up a salted motorway, as well.

The 'NATIONAL EXPRESS' fleet name had a basic flaw; the letters were red and blue (what, red, white and blue colours for a national operator - who would have thought of that???) but the red letters faded away. I'm sure that I wasn't the only one to notice that the adjective preceding 'Express' as a result, changed to a very rude one...

I'd disagree here. The National Bus / Express logo is probably only second to the BR double arrow as the most known public transport branding ever in Britain.