Moving ads on moving stairs

Thanks to the Londonist I discovered that Viacom Outdoor (the people responsible for ad placements on the Tube) are going to trial animated posters on escalator walls, showing different advertisements depending on the time of day and update the content remotely. Tottenham Court Road or TCR to those of you that love acronyms will be the first station to "benefit" from this.

As Will from the Londonist says though:

"The really chilling aspect of this story emerges when you consider what sort of products and services escalator ads endorse. To be specific: we're talking, mostly, West End musicals. Soon you will be forced to watch extracts of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as you ascend and descend."



Jon Lewen, account director for digital at Viacom Outdoor, said the escalator panels would enhance consumers' experience of advertising on the Tube and provide new creative opportunities for advertisers.

"We are committed to exploring new and innovative ways to capture and captivate London Underground users," he said.

Capture us eh? I think the Tube capture us every day during umpteen thousand signal failures. Perhaps they should pipe through some ads for anti depressants and beta blockers, during the times we are "captured" while the drivers are making their tannoy announcements. They'd sell a shedload.