All posts tagged: 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: 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

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, […]

Historical Ad: Swissair “European Rapid Transit System” Poster, c. 1980s(?)

May 22, 2015
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Sent my way by long-time correspondent, Kyril Negoda. I’m not entirely sure of the vintage of this, as the archive it resides in covers the entire period from 1980–2000, and none of the images have dates attached to them. There’s definitely an early 1980s vibe to it, though – mainly from the tightly kerned Futura Bold heading at the top. I’ve seen transit map-styled airline maps before (here and here, for example), but this one […]

Photo: Trader Joe’s/MBTA Map

May 18, 2015
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“This Red Line train is bound for Chard of Many Colors via Black Beans”. Taken at the Trader Joe’s West Newton store… mostly recognisable as the MBTA “T” map, but with a few additions and exclusions. The Silver Line is now a light shade of blue and promises wild salmon, while the commuter rail lines now seem to sprout randomly from the end of “T” lines in a variety of different colours. Nice hand lettering, though! Side […]

Advertisement: “Double Diamond” Beer Featuring the London Tube Map (c. late 1970s?)

April 8, 2015
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More proof of just how ingrained the Tube Map is in the English psyche is evident in this billboard advertisement for Double Diamond beer – inserted as the punchline in the long-running “Only here for the beer!” campaign.  The ad campaign itself is almost as much as part of England as the Tube Map; the tag line has entered into the vernacular, much like “Where’s the beef?” in the U.S., and “Not happy, Jan!” in […]

Photo: Moscow Metro Advertisements

October 31, 2014
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Two Moscow Metro ads from around 2004 or so. The one on the left is pretty average, but the dress in the poster on the right is beyond amazing. The original source of these photos on Flickr seems to think that they’re recruitment ads for Metro staff, and translates the headlines as follows: Left: In the Metro, the Weather’s Good Right: Hit of the Season Source: Esthr/Flickr