Photo: JayParkinsonMD
So yesterday we reported on Hello Health’s thought bubbled subway ads that drew a lot of attention, literally, and how the MTA supposedly pulled them because they were encouraging graffiti. However, Jeremy Soffin, the transit agency’s press secretary said that while “we don’t like to see advertising that lends itself to vandalize the system,” the MTA did not give the order in this case. “CBS made the call,” explained Soffin. He was referring to CBS Outdoor, the exclusive media managing agency for the MTA’s entire system. So we contacted Benjamin Palmer, the CEO of the creative group that designed the ads, managed the buy on behalf of Hello Health with CBS, and first told us of them being rejected. According to him, the ad contracting rep responsible for the buy, Simon Smith, specifically claimed it was the MTA’s call to pull the ads and then informed the group they would need to submit new creative—since ‘Hello’ is locked into a six-month buy.
Photos: Barbarian Blog/Flickr (Click to enlarge)
On July 31st, these posters for Hello Health, a new local internet-savvy doctor service, went up in a couple of L and G train stations in Brooklyn. Within days, riders had filled in many of the bubbles. On August 5th, The MTA pulled the posters because, they said, the ads promoted subway vandalism. No. Shit. At least they promoted orderly subway vandalism, unlike the NYPD recruitment ads or this Summer’s movie posters.
But of course the malfunctioning MTA was going to pull these posters—the ad people at The Barbarian Group seemed genuinely surprised by this. Now Hello Health is on the hook for a six-month media buy, and the idea—including the service’s own bubble logo—is completely dead, according to Barbarian president Benjamin Palmer. Yikes. Back to the blank computer screen. The MTA didn’t return two calls for comment. After the jump, take a look at a sampling of how New Yorkers thoughtfully expressed themselves. UPDATE: CBS is eviler than the MTA.
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