“Motion” advertising comes to subway tunnels (VIDEO)
May 6, 2007 
Add CommentSubway riders around the world have begun to see a new form of advertising underground — in-tunnel “motion” ads:
Companies such as Canadian-based SideTrack, Manhattan-based SubMedia, and Los Angeles-based Aap! Global have installed miles of frame-stop succession ads (much like an unraveled 19th century zoetrope) in the United States and Europe:
In the US, San Francisco’s BART, Atlanta’s MARTA, Boston’s T, Washington DC’s METRO, and Philadelphia’s PATCO have tried out these ads. Of course, the biggest market for this new brand of advertising would be the largest subway system in the world, namely the New York City Subway.
Several companies are currently negotiating with the NYCTA to make these installations happen, but could you imagine the possible disruptions just three or four of these ad installations could cause to the system? Regular subway riders in NYC can attest to the very long lag time in updating the advertisements inside the trains; outside of them would be a whole different story.
But what New Yorker wouldn’t want to see a 15-second Target ad outside their train window while commuting to work, instead of broken light fixtures and dripping water:
If this subway “motion” advertising catches on, it could generate millions of dollars a year. But until then, we’ll have to go back to pretending to see patterns in the miles and miles of underground graffiti as the subway train drives by…
