"Can I get a towel with that?"

Among the economy woes, the pending increase in MTA fares and decrease in services is not top of mind for most New Yorkers. Keep New York Moving is a campaign to keep public transport a way of life that is safe, affordable and reliable. A subway ad equates an unlimited monthly MTA pass to the price of a luxury gym illustrating how the proposed cost is out of proportion. However strong the concept, the design fails to deliver an opportunity to grab most commuters' attention. Imagine a well groomed gym rat pumping iron and the copy running along the bottom.

Czech Dream

My Netflix queue has been catching up with me this winter. Czech Dream is a 2004 documentary on two film students (Vít Klusák and Filip Remunda) scamming Prague into attending the opening of a hypermarket. Inspired by the research that 30% of Czech citizens shop in a hypermarket or big box like Costco and Target, the movie reveals the consumerism unfolding in the post-communist country as a form of freedom. Freedom to choose more than one brand, to have well stocked shelves, or to shop all day with the family.

The behind-the-scenes footage is most valuable when advertising agency (Mark/BBDO) details their process for creating a radio and print campaign with slogans "Don't come" and "Don't spend". A defining moment occurs when a creative meeting erupts due to the debate whether shoppers will return home empty-handed when they discover the façade.