Baltimore Trip: Underground Advertising

During my trip to Baltimore over the Christmas holiday, I got to ride on a subway for the first time. I know, I know, but I grew up in Texas, and there aren't a lot of rail systems around here, much less subways. That made my experience trolling around the DC subway system all the more fun. The really fun part, though, was seeing how the space was used for advertising.

I had only recent begun to hear about the group This is Reality, the folks who do the spots denouncing clean coal. So, you can imagine my amazement when I found they had bought out every available inch of ad space in one of DC's busiest terminals.

They didn't even just buy the traditional space, they went for broke, wrapping ads around support columns, hanging long banners from handrails, and more. I didn't even realize they had that kind of funding, but the coalition must be strong, my friends. I can't image that kind of absolute buy-out would be cheap, especially in the heart of DC.

It made me yearn for unconventional OOH opportunities…something that's usually incredibly effective, but rarely tried. Anyone want me to put your brand somewhere cool to grab consumers' attention in an incredibly relevant and memorable way?