Asbury & Asbury: Mr Blog's Valedictory Awards Show

Last summer, we began a project documenting all the 'Mr' shops on Britain's high streets. Since then, in the guise of Mr Blog and his companion Mr Tweets, we have documented almost 150 'Mr' shops, ranging from Mr Chips and Pizza Man to Mr Window. Not one to overstay his welcome, Mr Blog recently announced his retirement – his final post is on Friday 28 January.

‘Mr’ shops are one of the most enduring forms of folk branding, because they tap into a basic truth about branding in general. It is fundamentally about taking a product or service and giving it a personality. ‘Mr’ brands do that in the most direct manner possible. They exist all over the world, from Nairobi to New York, but there is a charming formality about the device that feels peculiarly British.

To mark the end of the blog, here are some of the stand-out posts. Most of the images are taken from Google Street View, without which the project wouldn't have been possible.

Best Ever Blog Post
Herr Kutz

Best Colour Scheme
Mr Kebab

Best Strapline
Mr Toolbag (No job too odd)

Best Use of Long Copy on a Shopfront
Mr Pine

Best Logo
Mr Furniture

Worst Logo
Mr Logo

Best Shop Name / Location Match
Mr Kleen of Turnham Green

Worst Shop Name / Location Match
Mr Chicken of East Ham

Clearest Brand Positioning
Mr Cheap

Best Brand Narrative
Mr Big Stuff (Opening lines: 'They're having a laugh' was my reply when I was told that Bev had had to pay over £20 for a plain white t-shirt from a big man's clothes shop in Nottingham.)