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A Car-Free Diet? |
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I’ve been taking more notice of good ad campaigns recently; I appreciate the intersection of design and messaging. It’s even better when I agree with the message.
Today on the side of a bus I saw an ad that featured a professional-looking woman with the caption, “I lost two thousand pounds today. It’s sitting in my driveway.”
The two thousand pounds, of course, refers to her car.
There were a few things I loved about the ad beyond its design (which unfortunately I can’t show you here):
1. It promoted public transportation, which we need more of in this country for economic and environmental reasons, and to make us more competitive against countries like Japan and the Western European states.
2. It mocked the culture of easy solutions and insecurity related to self-image found in so many magazines, product campaigns, and advertisements nowadays. Instead of pushing an improbable solution to what is likely an imagined or exaggerated problem (being “overweight,” particularly for women), it offered a path to something really liberating: ditching your car, your commute, and related expenses.
3. To restate the first two, it was funny and light-hearted but it pushed a positive message. We need more campaigns like that, particularly at a moment when people are rethinking a lot of things about how our country works.
The ad comes from an organization called Car Free Diet, based in Arlington, VA. I’m not affiliated with them in any way.
That’s straight. Public transit is overrated look how successful Detroit is without it.
lol!
“You’ve got to get back to the Motor City. Where the Superbowl’s gone but the streets sure are pretty.” “If you don’t like the blight you can hit the road, and get back to your safe suburban homes.”
-lyrics from our song, “Get Gentrified”
I’ve been biking to work now that the weather’s finally starting to break; because there’s no such thing as public tranportation in the outlands of strip-mall’ia.
Also a good pun on the “carb free” diet…not just a diet, but a fashionable diet for the environment.