No Vacationing on the Subway!

The most recent advertising controversy in NYC are the latest round of train ads for the Bahamas. It shows ways that you have an "instant escape" during your commute. They are quite clever - one depicts turning a seat into an instant hammock, while another cheekily gives instructions on how to fly fish with a cell phone and scarf. Real serious stuff, huh? This is leaving the MTA in an tizzy, because it completely breaks all their rules of conduct - which were just updated about a month ago. Sure, we know better than to hog up seats, and no one in their right mind is really going to fly fish over the platform, but if you're going to advertise on the subway, you've got to set an example. CBS Outdoor, who placed the ads are taking down the 2 instant escapes in question.

The MTA means business, too and are cracking down on dual seat offenders. A Brooklyn woman was slapped with a $50 fine last week for putting her groceries on the seat next to her on an empty F train. I bet the MTA is saying that by keeping these ads up, it is only encouraging such deviant behavior. Whole Foods gave the woman a $100 gift certificate saying that "no one should be punished for taking their groceries home." The woman is still going to fight the ticket, and the Straphangers Campaign supports her.

This isn't the first time a subway ad has been scrutinized. Last summer, the awful "Mitchum Man" campaign which pretty much declared how much of a man you were if you could jump over a turnstile or kick in the emergency window. Those were just plain stupid. But vacation, who doesn't want to go on vacation?