So I was doing my usual patronizing of the Uniqlo store at London's Oxford Street today when something unusual happened. My Android Pay notification was dancing at me. The familiar green Android mascot was dressed up in an R2-D2 outfit and it was shimmying and jiggling its metal bits to my surprise and delight.

I can't explain why this cross-dressing droid made me grin. I'm usually far too jaded to be taken in by cutesy gimmicks like this, and I'm not even much of a Star Wars fan. But fair play to Google, it got to me.

The silly, desperately uncool droid and its goofy dance made me even more pleased with my purchase than I already was. This is cynical corporate sentimentality done right.