I guess we’re never more than a few feet from an advertisement these days, and the NYC subway system is no different. The stations, platforms, and train cars are full of ads. The good news (for advertisers, at least) is that, when we’re sitting on a subway car for twenty minutes with nothing else to do, we do tend to actually look at and think about the ads. And the good news for the viewer is that advertisers sometimes then give us ads that actually require some thought.
One great case in point is the current ad campaign of Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM): “And then it hits you.” You can view the ads and read more about the campaign here. But the gist of it is a series of images of “audience members” who are stopped in their tracks (in the middle of 7th Avenue, on the subway, in the library), days later, as they’re “hit” by the experience they had at a BAM music, dance, theatre, or film event. “We’ve all had a BAM or other cultural moment come home to roost in the unlikeliest of places.”
Isn’t this what we all want, as artists and arts leaders? To give this experience –which we’ve all had ourselves – to others? Continue reading
