So far in 2025, any new adverts seen on the Edinburgh Trams network have been for returning companies (either revising a current contract or in the case of Breitling coming back after almost a year away) but that has now changed with 269 carrying a partial advert for Popeyes.
Popeyes is an American multinational chain of fried chicken restaurants founded in 1972 who have just opened their first restaurant in Edinburgh (an opening which was disrupted by PETA demonstrators). And no they don’t include spinach on any of their menus!
269’s new vinyls are mainly orange and certainly stand out against the white of the fleet livery. As it’s a partial advert style it only includes vinyls above the windows and full height on the third and fifth sections of the tram. The full height ads feature an image of a very large chicken burger!
This advert replaces another partial ad for Edinburgh Street Food which had been on the tram since August 2024. 269 has now had nine different adverts since receiving its first for CR Smith in October 2017. The longest lived advert was for House of Hearing which was seen on the tram May 2022-February 2024. All of its ads have been of the partial style.
The full advert is seen affixed to the tram when its rests in the yard at Gogar Depot. (Photograph by Nathan Burns)
Some of the close-up detail of the advert encouraging Edinburgh to get “poppin’” and with an image of a burger available from the restaurant (presumably not to scale!). The tram is on Princes Street between Castle Street and Princes Street with the scaffolding surrounding 107/106/105/104 Princes Street where the new Ruby Hotel is being created.
Another view of 269’s advert as it stops at West End heading to the Airport. There is no mistaking that Popeye’s now have a restaurant on Princes Street! (Photographs x2 by Roy Calderwood, 15th March 2025)