In the time of Wakes Weeks, when the factories would close and the entire populations of northern towns would decamp to a seaside resort, a chap called Lobby Lud was an essential tool in keeping newspaper sales going.
Lobby Lud, usually some poor sap from the circulation department, would stroll down the prom while eagle-eyed readers would read the description of him in their daily newspaper before springing out upon the bloke crying: ‘You are Lobby Lud and I claim my £10.’The prerequisite was that you’d have to have that day’s newspaper in your hand.
So it’s good to see that the best ideas are the old ideas, and to welcome into the pantheon of circulation department heroes a certain Captain Crunch, currently starring in The Sun as an antidote to our economical difficulties. In this case, our intrepid hero is handing out £100 Asda vouchers to anyone who spots him – which shouldn’t be difficult as he’s wearing a Superman costume and a black mask.
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