In this article we take a look at some more of the detail of an advertising livery carried on a tram in the UK. This time we head off to the South Yorkshire Supertram system to look at the advert carried for Sumup – an ad with different colours at each end.
111 has been carrying this advert for Sumup since October 2024. It features two contrasting ends – with one being white and the other a dark almost black colour. As with most ads in Sheffield it is also devoid of vinyls on the windows with the design making full use of the bodyside and ends of the tram to promote its product.
Sumup provides business of all sizes across the world with products enabling them to take card payments. Their primary product is an EMV card reader and they also provide online payment and bank account systems.
This was the fourh different company to advertise on the tram, indeed it has gone from advert to advert since October 2010. This surely makes it one of the longest periods of time that a modern tram in the UK has operated out of fleet livery? Its first advert was for East Midlands Trains with this in place October 2010 to September 2017, that was replaced by a design for IKEA (until April 2018) which is when the tram received its first design for Pretty Little Thing. This was revised in January 2022 and that remained stuck on the tram until October 2024 when along came Sumup.
The font end of the tram on this journey was the darker end with 111 heading off to Meadowhall on the Yellow route. As can be seen the windows are free of vinyls with everything that needs to be shown included on the bodyside and end of the tram.
And the other end of the tram is much brighter. 111 has clearly had a replacement panel here which is in standard fleet livery (as is so often the case across the country when something needs to be replaced like this). Fitzalan Square also has some additional cover whilst scaffolding is up around the building adjacent to the stop. (Both Photographs by Stuart Cooke, 9th February 2025)