All posts filed under: Advertising

Historical Map: BART “Going Places” Advertising Supplement Poster, 1982

March 26, 2021
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Here’s a fantastic poster designed as the centre spread of an advertising supplement to various Bay Area newspapers to celebrate the first ten years of BART (1972–1982). The immediately recognisable system diagram is overlaid on top of some charming line illustrations of landmarks and attractions, with the routes of BART Express buses also indicated. It’s all very simple – the illustration looks like it’s been done with some coloured fine felt-tip pens – but it’s […]

Historical Map: Car and Bus Routes to Wanamaker’s, 1929

January 24, 2020
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A rather wonderful little map from the 1929 edition of the Wanamaker’s Diary, showing how accessible the store – generally regarded as one of the first department stores in the United States – was by public transportation. I particularly like how all the modes are clearly defined by delightful little profile illustrations – adorable little motor coaches, single cars with trolley poles for streetcars and multiple cars for the subway and elevated lines. The sheer […]

Advertisement: “Eldrivet Sedan 1902”, Västtrafik, Gothenburg, Sweden

October 16, 2019
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This is an advertisement produced by Gothenburg’s Västtrafik transit agency (see their press release here, in Swedish). The tag line translates to “Electrically powered since 1902”, with the image showing Gothenburg’s tram network in the form of an electrical circuit board. In their own words, the ad “reminds [us] that climate-smart electric vehicles are old news.” The map is a very close facsimile of the official tram/ferry map (August 2018, 3 stars), though with the […]

Advertisement: Alzheimer’s Association “Subway Map”

September 11, 2017
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Spotted this in Cambridge aboard the MBTA Red Line. As a frequent reader of your blog, I certainly appreciated it and I thought you might as well! Transit Maps says: I feel like there’s a good idea somewhere in this ad, but the execution is a little flat. Shouldn’t “finding help” get the route back on track? The two “warning sign” stations are fine, but using “In Transit” for both of the stations before that is […]

Historical Map: Newcastle Inns “Metro Map” Ad, 1982

September 3, 2017
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This newspaper ad from 1982 predates all those trendy “coffee shops/restaurants/bars/etc. nearest every subway/metro/train station in [insert city]” graphics that are pretty much everywhere these days by some 35 years. Riffing off the the Tyne & Wear Metro Map of the day, the map shows all the Newcastle Inns’ pubs near stations with their star logo, while also featuring some truly dreadful advertising copy puns. Source: SkyscraperCity forums

Historical Map: CAAC Airways Service Diagram, China, 1957

August 23, 2017
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Here’s one for @airlinemaps: a wonderful infographic/diagram mashup from the 1950s that packs in heaps of information, right down to the type of airplane used on each route (denoted by the colour of each line). Flight numbers, time of departure/arrival, days of service, through routing of flights… it’s all incorporated into the one graphic. And it’s trilingual as well! Compare with this very similar diagram of Polish Airlines LOT routes from 1939 (June 2015, 5 […]

Poster: JR East “Slow Train, Slow Life” Campaign, 2016

July 12, 2016
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Now this I love! One of a series of posters celebrating the more relaxed pace of life along the northeast branch lines of JR East’s network in Japan. The posters are a collaborative effort led by artist Philippe Weisbecker, who has integrated (pretty detailed!) children’s drawings into the designs. Source: JR East poster website via Taras Grescoe/Twitter

Historical Map: Poster Promoting the Bakerloo Line Extension to Stanmore, 1939

March 4, 2016
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By the mid-1930s, the London Underground’s Metropolitan line was suffering from congestion caused by the limited capacity of its tracks between Baker Street and Finchley Road stations. To relieve this pressure, a tunnel was constructed between the Bakerloo line’s platforms at Baker Street and Finchley Road and three Metropolitan line stations (Lord’s, Marlborough Road and Swiss Cottage) were replaced with two new Bakerloo stations (St. John’s Wood and Swiss Cottage). The Bakerloo line took over […]

Lyft Launches “Friends With Transit” Campaign, Targets “Last-Mile” Riders

November 3, 2015
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Say what you like about Lyft (”awesome ride-sharing service” or “dangerously unregulated upstart taxi wannabe” seems to describe the polar opposites of opinion), but this is a pretty sweet ad campaign. From the delightfully double-edged campaign name, “Friends with Transit” – which can either echo “friends with benefits”, or simply be a statement that Lyft complements public transportation – to the trademark hot pink lines filling in the gaps left behind by rail transit in each city, […]