And yes, I agree that his rant is valid and the monetization approach of the MTA sucks.

People don’t even have to think that hard for advertising opportunities on the MTA. The newer cars on the N/Q/R/W lines have electronic screens currently used for safety messages. Some of that time could be sold to advertisers. I know the Singapore subway system does this.

Another tip from Singapore (also seen on the Red Line T in Boston between Central Sq and Harvard Sq) is to put in individual frames that appear animated to the passengers when the train passes them at high speed.

But the cynical me just thinks that everyone is gonna shy away from advertising now because of the economy instead of thinking of creative ways to challenge the status quo.

–Vishy.

But in response to Vishy, I think many Asian countries are way ahead when it comes to brands engaging users. North Americans see bottom line and nothing else. We’d have to experiment with a few ‘cutting-edge’ ads here and there, see what the ROI is and then spend at least at year deciding on whether to make any sort of capital investment.

Give it 5 years, maybe we’ll catch up.