Subway Tunnels Feature Animated Ads

N E W  Y O R K, Aug. 16 -- Does it take a rocket scientist to turn ordinary subway tunnels into prime advertising space?

Well, yes. While Joshua Spodek was getting his Ph.D. in astrophysics from Columbia University, he was also developing an innovative advertising technique.

Sub Media, cofounded by Spodek and Matthew Gross in 1999, produces 15- to 20-second animated ads that appear on subway tunnel walls. This is accomplished through a series of backlit pictures which Spodek compares to "the frames in a film reel."

The pictures, printed by the U.K.'s Photobition Group on Kodak transparencies, spring to life as the train speeds by, creating a fluid film and giving passengers the effect of being inside a giant flip book.

Ads Hit Target

After being introduced in Atlanta in Sept. 2001, the first motion-picture ad debuted in New York City on June 18 in the uptown PATH train tunnel between 14th St. and 23rd St. The PATH trains, which connect Manhattan to New Jersey and are operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, serve an estimated 241,000 riders per day. The Sub Media location is visible to an estimated 40,000 people a day.

The initial New York ad, for Minneapolis-based Target, featured various uses of Target's red and white bull's-eye logo, including a woman skateboarding around the chain's emblem.

"Part of the Target brand is to constantly be looking for new ways to connect with our guests," said Target spokesman Douglas Kline. "An animated advertisement in a popular subway tunnel fit this bill perfectly."

"Target has a history of advertising with beautiful, bold, creative ads — so it was a natural choice for them," said Spodek.

It's certainly an expensive way to be bold. Although the PATH has a desirable demographic — 70 percent are professionals and 77 percent are between the ages of 25 and 54 — the Sub Media ads cost around $100,000 per month to run in New York, significantly more than traditional PATH advertising.