An iconic fixture of the London city landscape, Piccadilly Circus’s billboards have attracted some of the world’s most celebrated brand campaigns. But this week, it was announced that these could soon be replaced by one big screen due to new planning permissions.

Land Securities, the owner of the famous site also known as “The Curve”, has been granted permission to have Piccadilly Circus’s six screens replaced with one, a move that would certainly change the look of the area. With over 1 million weekly UK visitors to the site, and around 2 million weekly visitors by foot or vehicle, the position is ripe for attracting both a strong British and global audience. Over 50 brands have been housed there since the landmark’s first illumination back in 1908- these have famously included Perrier, Coca-Cola, Burberry, Samsung, and Japanese technology company, TDK. And for any brand looking to occupy a spot, they might be looking at an annual budget of approximately £4 million!

So which historic brand campaigns have been housed at the iconic landmark? We can’t fail to mention Coca-Cola, who have had their displays there since 1955. Innovative past campaigns have included an “intelligent” billboard back in 2003, which constantly changed by responding to external stimuli, showing passers-by when it was raining for instance, or displaying a “ripple” effect if the weather was particularly windy. This campaign also displayed scenes of London life and from the brand’s archive, as well as promoting its other drinks brands such as Fanta and Powerade. The first campaign over 60 years ago simply displayed the brand’s slogans, “Have a Coke”, with descriptive words such as “Delicious” and “Refreshing”, which appeared in neon lights, and were shown on a 17-second timing sequence.

A recent Coca-Cola campaign we particularly loved was the brand’s “Tweet Your Wish” campaign back in 2011, which let people see their tweets displayed on the Piccadilly Circus sign. Online users were asked to submit their tweet wishes on the site’s “Coke Zone” page, and then view the live stream of the billboard with the chance to see their message displayed. This was a fun and interactive campaign combining social media and a digital out-of-home display, and as a result, there were 864 tweets displayed, and 6,278 webcam views of the live-stream. And of course, it would have been a great experience for passers-by to see. In a similar interactive manner, we really admired Burberry’s campaign there back in 2015. This implored the brand’s users to choose their favourite scarf and monogram their initials onto it, via Burberry’s mobile site. Designs were then broadcast onto the company’s billboard, and by employing 3D technology, users were also able to have their brands “fly”, simply by moving their smartphones.

So if the move does go ahead, which brand might we see take over such a space, and would this spark rivalry? We imagine Coca-Cola might be top contender for a single spot, due to its long history with the site, and recognisable global advertising presence. Then there’s Perrier, who were the first company to have their advert displayed there, and their billboard lights have been illuminated since then, except during the Second World War, to mark the funerals of Sir Winston Churchill and Princess Diana, and to honour Earth Hour. Any brand looking to secure its position would be looking at an annual budget of £30 million, according to analysts, so we can only imagine it’s a tough decision for major companies to deliberate over!

What do you think of the news? Do you think it will change the face of one of London’s most iconic sites? And do you think it might potentially ignite “brand wars”? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital and share your comments on our Facebook page.