“The commercialization of humanity is destroying everything in the world…it would be nice to have public transportation separate from brainwashing,” said an anonymous commuter when asked his response to proposed advertisements on MetroCards. That’s right! Last week, the MTA announced that instead of the ubiquitous yellow-and-blue card we’re all accustomed to seeing in our wallets, we can expect to see Coca-Cola red or Pepsi blue as the cash-strapped agency sells ad space on MetroCards. Though the agency has experimented with small, black-and-white ads on the backs of cards, this is the first time the front will be taken over. “The whole thing is available, except for the black stripe,” said an MTA spokesperson. “Millions of New Yorkers carry MetroCards with them everywhere they go and use them multiple times a day…for those with a message and a desire to reach millions of people in a novel, attention-getting way, there is no better way to advertise,” said the MTA’s chairman, Joseph J. Lhota.

The move is making straphangers a bit ambivalent: while it’s hard to see the gold and blue go, it’s probably preferable to a fare hike, which has been delayed till 2013. And, hey. The whole affair is giving some illustrators like Chip Kidd a little side work: