Advertising

[beige_alert]

Advertising is somewhat scatter-shot, but advertisers do generally make an effort to put their ads where plausible customers for their product might tend to see it. I've always assumed you can learn at least a little about the demographics of wherever advertising is seen by the ads. Sometimes it's obvious. Leaf through an issue of GQ, and in between the photos of semi (and sometimes fully) naked women you'll see ads for aftershave and cologne and fancy wristwatches, but none at all for feminine hygiene products. Back when Highlander the TV series was on, I was somewhat surprised by the ads (extra protection for heavy flow days!) given who one might naively expect the audience to be given a brief description of the show (these guys get into big fights with swords and try to chop each other's heads off!). But I assume the advertisers knew what they were doing.

I took this fascinating photo of some advertising in a bus the other day. Bus advertising is special. When the "Transit TV" is working (mercifully, it was broken on the last trip) you get an endless succession of ads from lawyers. Have you or anyone you know been injured or killed by whatever drug or medical device is currently the one people are suing the manufacturer of? Have lung disease and need to sue someone? Have you already won a lawsuit or settled one and have steady settlement payments coming in but "need cash NOW" and want to convert that into a much smaller lump sum? Want a computer but can't afford a crappy computer and can't easily borrow the money because your credit is so bad that even though cats and dogs and parrots can get credit cards these days, you can't? Well, for just 97 low easy payments, a crappy computer can be yours! And the print ads, like that photo... Addicted to cocaine? Looking to abandon a newborn baby? Think you might have a sexually transmitted disease?

In a way, it seems like an odd mix. The stuff for poor people fits the American concept of the bus as being exclusively for poor people. I'm not certain how the lawyers fit into that, given that the only thing capable of burning through money faster than a lawyer is a manned space flight program. I assume they're expecting a contingent fee sort of arrangement. Do victims with good personal injury cases tend to ride the bus a lot? It's a mystery.

What is the advertising in the public transit where you live like?

Comments

[hsifyppah.livejournal.com]

Back when Highlander the TV series was on, I was somewhat surprised by the ads (extra protection for heavy flow days!) given who one might naively expect the audience to be given a brief description of the show (these guys get into big fights with swords and try to chop each other's heads off!).

Bwahaha, oh the advertisers knew EXACTLY what they were doing. Adrian Paul in a ponytail was SO HOT. That show was huge with The Ladies just because he was guaranteed to get sweaty and possibly shirtless every week.

Not that there isn't also a certain female preying mantis appeal in seeing guys cut each other's heads off...

[beige-alert.livejournal.com]

he was guaranteed to get sweaty and possibly shirtless every week.

That's what I figured. Glad to have it confirmed :)

So, what is the public transit advertising like in your city?

[hsifyppah.livejournal.com]

Lots and lots of cell phone ads, which matches the number of people talking loudly on their cell phones on transit. A certain amount of BANKRUPTCY TRUSTEE! and PHONE DISCONNECTED?!!? ads, but it sounds like not so many as where you live - here transit is the stereotypical domain of not just the poor but also affluent hippies, and there's more money in advertising to the rich environerds and their teenaged/twentysomething progeny. A few years ago the two big universities here started doing mandatory cheap bus passes for all students, which doubled the number of students on transit, so there are a lot of ads targeted to them - like the university bookstores and study-friendly cafés on the bus routes, still more cell phone plans, etc. Ads targetted at the downtrodden: youth crisis lines, fake abortion clinics (pro-life groups who try to talk you out of an abortion), real abortion clinics, mental health hotlines. About 10% of the ad space is taken up by sort-of ads from the transit company, like "We're hiring!" or "Hey, let old ladies sit down, you putz" or "New route starting September 2" or what have you. Some ads for bicycle shops, car-sharing co-ops, and other businesses of interest to the car-free. Ads for events, especially events that are near transit stations.

[maverick-weirdo.livejournal.com]

On the Commuter Rail we get travel ads (Visit Maine, Foxwoods Casino, JetBlue Airlines) and UTC cross section ads

On the T (Mass. Bay Transit Athority) I saw ads for Summer Lunch Programs (for kids out of school), night school classes, & Lottery Tickets

[madfilkentist]

The T has lots of beer and wine ads, but has openly said it will invent excuses to prevent ads for marijuana legalization from ever being run.