In the days of the traditional tramway in Blackpool it always used to be the tradition that each Easter there would be new all over adverts making their debuts. Since the upgrade of the tramway this hasn’t happened as much with the majority of the full adverts that we’ve seen being applied at other times of the year but this year we’ve gone back to how it once was as Good Friday (29th March) saw the debut of a new advert and it’s an attraction who had adverts on the traditional trams but hadn’t previously advertised in this form on a modern tramway.
Its Coral Island who have taken out the full vinyl wrap contract and the tram which has been chosen is 016 – the tram which has had by far the most wraps since the upgraded tramway opened in 2012.
The new vinyls – which are very yellow! – have been directly applied on top of the expired advert for Pretty Little Thing. The previous pink adverts had been on the tram for over five years (originally stuck on in August 2018) but the contract had reportedly expired some time ago. Of course, 016 wasn’t the only tram to advertise Pretty Little Thing with 003 also doing so between August 2018 and December 2023 (this is now back in fleet livery).
The Coral Island advert on 016 becomes the third sponsor on the tram with the fourth different design. It was the very first Flexity2 to carry an all over advert in April 2014 when it received the first of two designs for Fleetwood Freeport. This was in place for 12 months when in April 2015 a new Fleetwood Freeport design came and that was how it stayed until August 2018 as which point it became a “Pretty Little Thing”.
Back to its current advert and the tram is now yellow with the Coral Island logo on the tram about 26 times so there’s no doubt what it is advertising! There are window vinyls on six of the ten windows on each side publicising the Kids Eat Free promotion. It also features oversized fleet numbers.
There are now two trams in the Flexity2 fleet which are in vinyl wraps with 012 retaining its Pleasure Beach advert which was first seen August 2023.
- A video featuring the new look 016 is available on Podbaba Transport at https://youtu.be/Iu4udf-oShI?si=7IOp8hzWlWgLp6je
016 calls at Victoria Street in Fleetwood on its first day in service with a working to Starr Gate. (Photograph by Matthew Morton, 29th March 2024)
016 should have had its Pretty Little Thing advert removed in November when 003’s was removed. However, 016 remained pink due to the panels on 003 being damaged as the wrap was removed.