STB tipper Max Jacobowitz say this during King Five news the other day:
Pretty cute ad.
|
AdvertisementContact UsFollow STB STB on Facebook STB on Twitter
Blog Entries (RSS)Recent PostsSearchBest ArgumentsBest Reference PostsArchivesThe Atlantic Cities BlogrollNationwide BlogsSystem MapsTransit OrganizationsTrip Planning |
I hope they keep it up. They got to quit relying on bad news that makes the news to get the word out.
The ad is pretty adorable I think, and it is a workable ad concept for transit, too.
I would like to see Metro and ST advertise more. Also, placement in the opening montage of a news program on TV or other kind of show wouldn’t hurt. New Mexico RailRunner has had that, it is in the opening montage of images of Good Day New Mexico on KOB-TV, and has appeared in one TV show on USA, but could not remember the name.
As for what I meant by relying on bad news for advertising. In the editors note of the 40th Anniversary Edition(really 30th) of Passenger Train Journal, that bookings often went up after accidents, and the new riders were saying that they did not even know Amtrak was still around until they saw it on the news, even though it was bad.
Unfortunately right now Metro doesn’t have enough revenue for the riders it has!
A better idea would be for a trade association to take on the advertising. Since the ads would be for a public service they might be able to get reduced rates or free airtime like the AD council or various PSAs.
ST certainly should do a bit of a media blitz with both paid and free media.
That’s a cool ad. I saw it during “24″ the other night.
Yay, that last scene is San Luis Obispo, California, where I went to college. I miss it.
ditto, I noticed that as well. Good old bishops peak and cerro san luis/madonna mountain
Did you go to Cal Poly as well?
Yes class of 2007
Native SLO boy here:
While the vista IS Cerro San Luis and Bishops Amtrak obviously did a little trickery with this video.
There is only one set of tracks right there.
This was shot very close to where Amtrak shot:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mayhem/2360914886
By the way, that was the Coast Starlight.
Ah, the Coast Starlate. “The train will be arriving sometime within the next three hours.”
I feel like train travel could dominate all other forms of transportation in the range of 50-400 miles if only we could get reliability and frequency. But I’d settle for reliability and let frequency come with time.
What can we say, that kid with the train set has the right idea…
It’s about time Amtrak did some adverts. America’s Best Kept Secret indeed.
This reminds me of the Mass Transit Now! ad, which had little kids and toy cars in it too.
Nice ad. It effectively shows that trains are (or should be) a viable transportation option when compared to cars and planes. My only quibble is that one of the kids playing with the planes shouts “I gotta get to Cleveland!”. Too bad that Amtrak doesn’t have decent service to Cleveland – only two long distance trains that stop in the middle of the night.
Very nice piece of work, I just wish they had a bit more of Amtrak in it at the end.
It is always fun to play with toy cars! We’ve done that with Donald Shoup!
[...] tip to the Seattle Transit blog for [...]
[...] Seattle Transit Blog « Capital Center Commission downsizes Livable Streets [...]