City
How the TTC marketed itself, vintage edition
Building a subway was just the first step, without anyone to cough up a fare the TTC wouldn't have got very far with its underground transit system. Hence, ads. In the final part of our trip down TTC memory lane, and as a nice companion to today's earlier negative transit report, here's a collection of vintage promotional material for the TTC (get an etiquette lesson and see old-time adverts that ran on the TTC here).
The majority of these ran on the subway or streetcars - preaching to the converted perhaps - in the 40s, 50s and 60s. Some might be earlier, not all were dated, but I think you'll agree no matter the precise age, many of these posters make arguments for riding transit that are perfectly valid today (even if it's a little pricey and infrequent).
The ads are wide and narrow to fit the slot at the top of the subway car near the roof where the TTC still sells space today. These, however, are made of card and were not backlit like the ones the subway carries now. In the Gloucester cars, lights shone on the adverts from the front.
Take a look and decide whether you think much has changed in the case for subways.
TTC PROMOTIONAL POSTERS:
CNE DISPLAY POSTERS:
JUBILEE OF PROGRESS:
Images: City of Toronto Archives
Discussion
20 Comments
Sort By Oldest First / Newest First
Subscribe
ARE YOU LISTENING, YOU IDIOT MAYOR?
Great article and photos though!
I think I won this round, Binks...
Maybe one way to promote the TTC is to encourage companies who sell stuff to educated, gainfully employed, relatively frugal people (or at least who like to think of themselves in those terms) to advertise on it.
Marketing doesn't work like that though. Companies market where they think it will be most effective, and I guess the TTC represents the market those ads are aimed at. Like you said, your friend was the only one of her colleagues who took the TTC. I feel like people with money avoid the TTC because it's slow and dirty though, not because of any social stigma.
The reason there are also ads aimed at people looking for work or education is that TTC vehicles are a good way to reach those people - more so than a roadside billboard.
And those debt counselling ads also appear on the backs of buses, where they're likely to be seen by people who are driving.