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Early Addition
Photos via the MTA and the History Channel.
Behold! This morning the MTA unveiled the first "full advertising wrap of the exterior and interior of a New York City subway." Synergy alert! The ad is for the History Channel's Cities of the Underworld, which follows urban explorer Don Wildman on his adventures beneath major cities. Adventures happening ever further down from the ones New Yorkers experience on the 42nd Street Shuttle.
The underground ad campaign is a bit underwhelming, but it is in an effort to further expand the MTA's advertising revenue base, and in addition they'll also be testing digital advertising on buses and in-car commuter rails. The MTA noted that they "will realize over $125 million in 2008 in advertising revenues. If these new initiatives are implemented on a permanent base, the MTA expects these revenues to grow substantially." Which could only help at this point.
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So let me get this straight. When I'm underground in a dark, dank subway system, I will somehow be tempted to watch a TV series about dark, dank underground spaces. Uh huh. Not to mention the NYC episode of CotU was terrible.
ugh!
This is bullshit. Properly fund the MTA and increase accountability.
Why not just put Snapple machines in the stations?
and I was worried there would be a moment during my day when I couldn't see an ad.
it sucks, but I'll take this over a $6 fare.
I kinda like it.
last summer they had this on the times square shuttle. Discover channel ads, if I remember. It didn't look that bad. I hate this in principle, but it's not like an Ad-free subway interior is much better. Done right, these ads might actually, dare I say it, beautify those nasty toupe-ass trains.
it also serves another purpose. It looks like they are using old trains for this promotion. It gives them a chance to re-furbish shitty scratchitti trains. I'd pick these ads over looking at moldy warriors-esque vandalism any day. I think it's a good idea. More money for the MTA means less fare increases, one can only hope.
Disgusting.
I have only 2 questions:
Will it help pay to clean up the bum turds?
Will they be doing a car up for 'Scores'?
man, american cities just keep getting uglier and uglier, tackier and tackier, crass and crasser, eyesore!
I really don't want to see the train they use for the Viagra campaign.
fcking lame. I just became a supporter of graffiti artists. someone take this candy-ass marketing conference room wet dream Doowwwwwwn.
calling neckface
calling the
cobrasnake
They've been doing this on European street trams for several years (I don't recall seeing subway trains covered in ads).
ohhh my god.... this sucks.
Terrible
I'm waiting for the McDonald's ads saying, "I'm Loving It."
Couldn't they make it more exciting using LED's?
Bring back the Marlboro man!
Simple solution: raise the fare.
The subway is far too inexpensive for what it is. It should $2.50 per ride at least, and even $5.00 per ride would be a bargain.
Oh, and for the love of god - privatize the damn thing! The city has done nothing but drive the subway into the ground since they nationalized it. City unions, incompetent staff, decades of deferred maintenance, and a total inability to expand a system after 70 years!!!
I've been saying they should have been doing this for years. Just think about the graffiti artist that had broadcast their egos on trains 30 years ago.
I don't mind at all! But I wonder about all of that adhesive they use. Is it toxic?
Gotta ask questions!
Qraymond: Oh, I'll bet no one had thought of that. That idea changes everything.
cucarachita: It's the subway...EVERYTHING is toxic.
The graffiti that used to be on the trains looked 100 times better than this crap.
uhhhh they wrap the interior walls and seats in ads too?
It'll be news to me when the MTA does it to every train car on every line, as they should be doing by now.
Advertising is a fact of life and I accept it. Especially if it helps reduce the MTA's pathetic dependence on subsidies and fare hikes for revenue.
I say go further. Put Zoetrope ads in the tunnels. Get companies to sponsor/adopt stations; give them temporary naming rights, et al.
I imagine graffiti will take better on the ads than they do on a stainless steel surface. Ads are, of course, a kind of graffiti too, so they will lend themselves to support of original, local graffiti talent. I imagine the more talented graffitists will work with the ads, not just obscure them. After all, the legendary history of graffiti includes the painting of a moustache on Mona Lisa; why not on bottles of Absolut and tropical island vacations $199 and Aprenda Inglés as well?
Good news at last!
This is just legal graffiti.
It's worse than graffiti. I want all taggers and graffiti artists to hit these wrapped nightmares and bomb and tag up the shit out of them. Fuck these advertizers and fuck the MTA.
About time! I'll trade these ads for no fare increases any day. Whatever they can get money for, do it.
not the first. the S train had liquor ads last time i rode it.
the subways should be freakin' COATED in ads. i have no problem with that. you guys don't realize that in most cities the public transit can only get ads from alimony lawyers and sperm banks. we are so lucky here that real companies want to support public transit
snapple machines would be fine with me as well if they could use the revenue to open some toilets
People are opposed to fare hikes.
And... opposed to advertisements on the subway. Christ, nothing can satisfy you.
Buses have advertisements slapped all over them so let the subways have them as well.
One can only hope this will help will their money problems, but with the MTA they will find a way to waste it.
"man, american cities just keep getting uglier and uglier, tackier and tackier, crass and crasser, eyesore!"
They've been using wrap-around advertising on buses, trains and street cars in beautiful European cities for years. Maybe one day you too will get a passport.
BARF!!!
Is this the only way to keep subway rates down? REALLY?
I can handle the outside, but my seat coverd in cellophane is taking it too far.
Great idea IMO.
A condom manufacturer should advertise using the wrapped train to look like a condom.
@35
I'd like to see the tunnel decorated to match.
I think it's a good idea on the outside, but the inside??? That car looks like a dungeon.
Hopefully Doctor Z will get his own train.
@36: The tunnel walls are already moist and fragrant.
@36
Ewwww.....
Who cares, it's really only on the S train anyway.
@39
Sounds good enough for poetry....
"I crave thine loins, moist and fragrant, cavernous and debris strewn as a subway tunnel."