Hundreds of lighted still photographs line subway walls, turning into an animated commercial when viewed from a moving train. The effect is similar to some of the earliest "moving picture" techniques, such as zoetropes, in which spinning still images appeared to show movement. Installation costs for the ad boxes are split between the advertising agency that developed the system and the transportation authority; revenue from the ads is also shared.
Initial reaction among subway riders has been mixed, ranging from excitement at having something to look at other than graffiti to annoyance at having to look at ads in yet another sphere. For public transit authorities, however, there is little downside. The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority received $90,000 for a three-month trial ad for Coca-Cola's Dasani bottled water. The ads started running in one tunnel in September. According to Submedia, the advertising firm that designed the system MARTA is using, that fee would fall at the low end of the anticipated scale. A MARTA spokesman says he believes the ads have the potential to generate $15 million over five years if multiple locations are used.
Word of the new advertising technique is likely to spread. In October, Philadelphia's Port Authority Transportation Corp. hired out an unused subway stop and tunnel to show off tunnel ads to 3,000 transportation officials in town for a public transit conference.
