Guerilla Ad on Redline T subway car

[teele-sq.livejournal.com]

What initially caught my eye on this 'ad' were the numerous typos but I think the concept was cool. The text of the poster encourages riders to initiate conversation with fellow passengers and attempt to connect with other humans rather than sit idly by and stare at ads for the duration of the ride. Personally it's hard for me to take lessons in morality from people who can't distinguish between your and you're but I give them an A for effort. Did anyone else see this, or know anything about the origin?

Comments

[anomie666.livejournal.com]

Do you have a bigger picture so we can read it? The text is too small to read from the picture.

[teele-sq.livejournal.com]

I meant to add "sorry for the crappy picture." It was taken with my crappy cell phone camera. That's why I was hoping someone else had seen it.

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

The text of the poster encourages riders to initiate conversation with fellow passengers and attempt to connect with other humans rather than sit idly by and stare at ads for the duration of the ride.

i'm not one for vandalism but if i saw these i'm not sure i could resist tearing them down. the LAST thing i want is strangers talking to me on the T. this is why i like driving. i can have time just by myself, not to mention most run ins with strangers where i've tried to placate them and be nice have ended with them being a total creep.

ugh. seriously, most people like being left alone.

[mutedhopes.livejournal.com]

especially at 7:00am on your way to work. please do not talk to me before i've had my breakfast.

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

Agreed, human interaction is nice and all but transit-time is a period of quiet introspection for a lot of us. This is one of the things I hate the most about Greenpeace with their shady activists who periodically come out to berate you unless you sign or donate something for them.

[thebostonreader.livejournal.com]

I like to read on the T. The last thing I want is someone trying to talk to me when I'm knee-deep in Harry Potter or whatever. I guess I'm what's wrong with society. :)

[mperrotti76.livejournal.com]

Sou... You ride here often?

[agnosticoracle.livejournal.com]

Personally it's hard for me to take lessons in morality from people who can't distinguish between your and you're

I've got to wonder, do you have a problem taking grammatical advice from people who can't do basic calculus? The problem with spelling flames isn't that they correct people's spelling. It is the underlying assumption that ability to spell has some correlation to morality.

[fanw.livejournal.com]

I don't care if Joe Q Pedestrian can spell or do calculus, but if someone is serious about trying to send a message via the print medium, I expect them to bother to spell check. Likewise, I expect my electrician to know the basics of circuitry and my plumber to plumb, but that doesn't mean I think Joe Q Pedestrian is any worse off morally or otherwise for not knowing circuitry, spelling, or calculus.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Not taking the time to edit a public message = disregard for effective communication, in my opinion.

If someone can't be bothered to present their arguments in accurate, coherent language, they lose their opportunity to lecture me about how I don't interact with my fellow T passengers or whatever the fuck they're rabbiting on about.

[sparkgrrl658.livejournal.com]

while i don't think spelling ability [whether poor or excellent] relates to morality, as a designer i look at something like this and think "gee, they didn't even care enough to have someone look it over for five seconds first."

and, as such, i care less about what they're trying to tell me.

i mean, i wouldn't send a resume or cover letter full of sloppy spelling and grammatical errors to a potential employer and expect them to take me seriously as a professional, would you?

[agnosticoracle.livejournal.com]

Watching spelling flamers try to justify themselves is amusing. Cause you know, I never said poor spelling doesn't make a message less effective or that you shouldn't spell check a resume. I'm merely pointing out that implying a correlation between morality and spelling ability (which the post I'm responding to did) is wrong. I might further add that doing so distracts from whatever other message the author was trying to make.

[teele-sq.livejournal.com]

I have a problem taking morality advice from people who can't do basic calculus.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

I think it's got more to do with either a lack of intellect or a lack of attention to detail.

Either way, that's REALLY not something you want in your chosen moral compass.

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

please don't talk to me on the T!

that is all.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Damn, and I had this Hegelian discourse all plotted out! :-)

[teele-sq.livejournal.com]

I never said I'd refuse lessons in morality from people with bad grammar, I said people who can't distinguish your and you're. You should learn to read more clearly.

[dominika-kretek.livejournal.com]

I hate moralizing critiques of consumer culture that fail to recognize that people are doing what they are doing for good reasons, reasons that reflect the structure of the society in which they are trying to live and make a living.

That assumes that you want the same things they want, or at least, would want the same things they want if you were enlightened enough.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

While I find the basic concept amusing, it's not consumerism keeping me from speaking to random strangers: it's MANNERS.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

I LOVE YOU.

[ron_newman]

I'm not even going to try to determine whether I agree with the message until I can see a version that's in print big enough for me to read. But encouraging friendliness sounds like a good idea to me.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Yes, but "polite reserve" can be even friendlier than "annoying intrusion."

At least, that's the story I'm sticking to. Y HALO THAR MAYFLOWER HERITAGE!

[cityofbeige.livejournal.com]

The only time I've ever seen anyone need to talk to anyone else on any mass transit system is either politeness (ie: "you want my seat", "sorry I bumped into you") or they want something (ie: panhandling, "holy crap, I'm lost!"). It's a means of transportation, not a social club or frikkin' cuddle party.

[ryanwanger.livejournal.com]

Not a social club or frikkin' cuddle party? Are you sure about that (http://www.flakmag.com/rejected/train.html)?

Although the link dwindles off into attempted hilarity, the original concept was very much a reality. Or so I remember overhearing some time ago...

[fefie.livejournal.com]

I'm at a loss to understand what encouraging sociability on the T has to do with consuming.

[alasbabylon.livejournal.com]

ha, that looks like something my ex would have made. silly. good basic idea (consumerism and isolation = teh suck), but not the best execution.

i guess i'm in the minority here in that i generally don't mind having other people talk to me and strike up conversation on the t as long as they aren't creepy or clingy; i'm quite introverted, and while commuting is a good time to daydream and unwind, there's still too much people for it to be re-energizing. so since it feels like peopletime anyway, i don't object to some human interaction. but i don't actively seek it out, and i definitely don't think it's some sort of big political statement

[fefie.livejournal.com]

I don't mind people talking to me either if it springs from a natural situation such as "holy crap, I'm lost!", a comment on the book I'm reading, or "so how long do you suppose we're gonna be stuck in this tunnel with no air and no info".

[redcolumbine.livejournal.com]

I actually enjoy talking, even complete nonsense, with other people in random situations, but it's so seldom that you come across anyone who wants to talk about anything but "life sucks" or "gimme" that it's a real treat when someone says "That's a great hat!" or "Did you see those dancers in the station?"

The reason privacy is so precious is that so few people do socializing well, and so many are mean, players, drunk, or crazy.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I'm not in either category. When I'm on the T, honestly, I like it quiet, and I'm not really in the mood for conversation with a stranger.

Now, arguing with random people on the Internet? I'm all over that!

[squonk.livejournal.com]

As a guide dog handler, I am firmly in the "Don't talk to me on the T" camp. How old is she? How long have you had her? I know you're not supposed to pet them, they're working! (Um, good for you. Are you looking for a medal, or just a pat on the back, or...?) My cousin's best friend's janitor has a dog that looks just like her! Did you get her from that eye-seeing-blind school?

Seriously? I get that people like dogs and are curious and all that, but I AM NOT OBLIGATED TO TALK TO YOU, AND I AM JUST TRYING TO GET THROUGH MY DAY THE SAME AS YOU ARE. YOU ARE LIKE THE EIGHTEENTH PERSON TO BUG ME IN THE LAST TEN MINUTES, AND I JUST WANT TO BE LEFT THE FUCK ALONE!!!!

...Wow. I feel better now. Thanks.

[teele-sq.livejournal.com]

I like turtles.

[teele-sq.livejournal.com]

What I liked most about this poster was that it gave me something to look at other than advertising. The typos were just what caught my eye initially. I never thought this post would spawn any of the discussions that it has.

I don't like to talk to strangers on the T either, I generally use that time to read. But I agree with ron_newman that encouraging friendliness hardly seems bad.

More about advertising -- I liked the scrolling Vermont tourism ad (between Porter and Harvard) much better than the new chocolate milk ad. Any thoughts?