"Ghost Station" Ed Roos
October 17, 2008—The Train Is Coming. And With It More Ads, a New York Times article, reports that the MTA plans to sell every NYC subway surface to the highest bidder. They need the money. Advertising — lots of it — is going to appear on every below-ground surface New Yorkers pass, from the round pillars on the subway platforms to the entire interior surface of subway cars. Ad agencies are considering ways to reach even the hardest-to-reach spots with the use of projectors. No surface will go unsold — not even the tunnel surfaces between stations. Advertisers plan to line them with printed ad images that will merge into a movie reel effect as your train zooms along.
Which begs the question: Isn’t advertising on such a massive scale a form of graffiti? Isn’t it a greater transgression than any spray-painted tag? The MTA is making a huge amount of money at the expense of the commuters. Say what you want about graffiti by private citizens, at least it’s varied, surprising — and original! Think of all the influences graffiti has had on art practice and typography. And think of all the influences graphic design has had on graffiti!
Sound/music theorists Mary Russo and Daniel Warner write, “A noise is a signal the sender does not want to transmit.” I think we can safely extend that definition to include signals the recipient doesn’t want to receive, even if the sender wants to transmit it. Advertising becomes noise every time it’s not wanted. Like the Oxyclean guy shouting about — what — bleach? Stain remover? Kick his ass to the curb! Press “mute” or change the station!
But you can’t change or mute subway advertising — unless you wear a sleep mask and a set of ear plugs — which would make the morning commute pretty dangerous.
Jacques Attali writes, “Listening to music is listening to all noise, realizing that its appropriation and control is a reflection of power, that it is essentially political.” (Noise, 1977) The same is true of the advertising industry and of the MTA. They appropriate and control our eye-space, ear-space and public space. They have the power and political clout to force upon us the most aggressive, oppressive advertising environment, ever.
Subway riders never get a break.
True, it’s not like we’ve ever had a lot of control over our commuting experience. Plop yourself down in a seat (if you can find one) and inevitably some dude wants to read your newspaper, grab your butt or filch your wallet. And how about the sweaty guy who leans over to read the subway map and check out your boobs (or your package). We’ve all developed coping mechanisms to deal with it. We read a book, work on a sudoku puzzle, listen to our iPod…or gaze out the window as the train gains speed and hurtles us through the city. A speeding train is a relief; we give over to the rapid fire blur of abandoned stations, mysterious squats and spray-painted hieroglyphics. The quick-flash parade of chaos and urban decay is a relief. It makes commuting an adventure ride. “Blade Runner” without the price of admission. “Disney” on the dark side.
I see lacunae when I gaze out my subway car window. The MTA sees chaos, danger, filth — and space for potential profits! Do I really want to look out my window and see a squeaky-clean Big Mac commercial that runs the distance to my next subway stop? Do I really want to be bombarded with the same predigested “Bling!” and “Blam!” that rules my TV, computer, cell phone and magazines? Isn’t it bad enough that we have ads on our Granny Smith apples, logos on our Starbucks coffee cups and infomercials in our doctors’ offices? Can’t we have any unstructured, unplanned, noncommercial public moments? Must the subways become one huge advertising brain in which we circulate like so many overloaded synapses gone haywire?
MTA, NO WAY! No more advertising! Enough already! Leave some space for the unexpected, the unimagined, the rude and original. Leave room for us.
Photo: George Roos concept image for, “Ghost Station,” a sound installation-enhanced “infrasonic space” in a Toronto abandoned station.
bordertalksblog.com 
Well in one instance i tend to agree with the opinion that some spac should be left unaffected by the marketing phenomenon of the 21st century but on the other hand this the subway media especially the ‘movie reel effect’ idea is a break through in advertising. It’s bold, dynamic and challenging.
It’s quite clever in the way that still images viewed at speed (of the train/tram) composes a moving picture like a TV advert. They are interesting in the fact that they don’t include much detail because of the speed they are being viewed – they are bold statement that stay in your mind long after you have viewed the advert. They’re eye catching and attention grabbin – an unique new and fresh form of marketing.
I do think that the ‘plans to sell every NYC subway surface’ this article stated is a bit too much. After all we are exposed to over 3000 types of marketing and advertising every day. I agree some things should be kept to a minimal. After all we a subway is a place of travel and travellers don’t need too much distraction as we all know how stressful catching the tube can be sometimes.
The bottom line however is money and if this is going to make money then it’s going to go ahead and marketers are going to jump at the chance to invest in this new and exciting challenge that is bound to capture the audience’s imagination thus increasing their sales in the long run.