Unsuck DC Metro: Ad Campaign Gains Traction

Friday, February 4, 2011

Ad Campaign Gains Traction

@kevin_reiss Surely, #WMATA's no eating or drinking rule doesn't apply to me. http://yfrog.com/h317726514j

Ad photo courtesy "Dave in Court House." Thanks as well to Mike.

Update from Metro: The ad does not violate any of our Guidelines Governing Commercial Advertising. It is not illegal to carry coffee on the Metro – just to drink it. Any changes to the guidelines would need to be amended by the Board of Directors to prohibit this ad.

Other items:
Metro death ruled accident (Examiner)
Could this work with Metro? (Crain's New York Business)

Comments (57)

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+8 Vote up Vote down

Anon · 738 weeks ago

Classic!

3 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

+3 Vote up Vote down

bet · 738 weeks ago

If they are promoting bringing aboard your coffee then how about a Starbucks at every station! : )

Concerning the article: riders being struck by trains, don't they see the body fluids on the trains themselves and find out which train and train driver struck the person?

I think these descriptions are vague and incomplete. There must be more to this.

+2 Vote up Vote down

@kara_h · 738 weeks ago

I can see it now ... a Starbucks next to the mezzanine with a wink-wink-nod-nod sign next to it saying you are not supposed to have beverages in the metro system.

+3 Vote up Vote down

Anon · 738 weeks ago

Great news! You can bring steaming hot mugs of coffee on metro in early morning freezing temperatures but just not drink it ! Ha!

Starbucks is a good idea then Kara! Sell coffee but just don't drink it.

Get real!

I guess the "marketing department and the powers that be" make a good point,

Metro Board Members and those approving ads don't ride trains or buses anyway.

+4 Vote up Vote down

Mike · 738 weeks ago

I love that I wasn't the only one to send you this.

-2 Vote up Vote down

Corresponding Toads · 738 weeks ago

I really really really like that coat she's wearing.

+4 Vote up Vote down

basil cronus · 738 weeks ago

Look at those shoes, plus no socks. It must be Friday.

+3 Vote up Vote down

Sizzle · 738 weeks ago

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought that ad campaign was strange, considering you're not supposed to eat or drink on Metro.

+8 Vote up Vote down

Terri Ble · 738 weeks ago

Epic FAIL = Typical day at Metro!

+7 Vote up Vote down

Matt G · 738 weeks ago

Shouldn't the ad read "I realized on the metro that the only fuel I need is a great cup of coffee?" That way it isn't encouraging the consumption of brew aboard? What's next, the jerky trains make someone spill their hot coffee on themselves, and then they sue metro?

+2 Vote up Vote down

Joe · 738 weeks ago

just my opinion here, but the no eating or drinking rule on metro is useless. what's the point? has this rule made the metro better than other transit systems in the US or abroad? i don't think so. sometimes we don't have time to consume a cup of coffee separately from taking the metro. it is nice to be able to take a cup of coffee on board. new york, for example, doesn't prohibit coffee consumption on trains, and they get by just fine.

it seems to me that the rule is just there so metro can point to it as the reason why their system is so clean compared to other transit systems as though that somehow fully compensates for their lack of ability in every other more critical area.

5 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

+9 Vote up Vote down

@kara_h · 738 weeks ago

Umm .... point? Who would *WANT* to have food on the metro that is exposed to all the filth that is floating through there?

+5 Vote up Vote down

Anon Ever · 738 weeks ago

And the coffee or ketchup spilling on innocent riders next to you when something happens? And the extra filth added to the trash everyone leaves already - the newspapers, gum, empty coffee cups... ?

+11 Vote up Vote down

One take · 738 weeks ago

So the signs that aren’t hung upside down are promoting bringing your coffee on the train when pretty much the only thing that a handful of station managers actually enforce is people holding food/drink items whether being consumed or not? All of this as they turn their backs while young thugs who assault commuters and riders run free undisturbed, old folks struggle up escalators don’t work (ironically in stations where the elevators are equally un-operational), and trains come every 16 minutes at Farragut North at rush hour? Because it rained, snowed, or it was a ‘hot’ day in July.
Am I alone in feeling that something just isn’t right; hasn’t been for a long time, and doesn’t look like it’s getting any better? The fares keep going up, I noticed one change though.
What is the leadership doing? It’s truly a culture of “Give me my paycheck….and I may or not do my job”.

+2 Vote up Vote down

F'n JD · 738 weeks ago

Had a woman drinking coffee next to me from Silver Spring to Metro Center.

Taborn and Sarles, enforce the rules or resign!

-12 Vote up Vote down

Mr. Coffee · 738 weeks ago

I drink coffee on the Metro all the time and hope to one day be the focal point of some perverse Big Brother-esque secret photo taken by some uptight, paranoid twit adorned by a comment from some other uptight moron who thinks all of Metro's problems stem from coffee consuming riders and not deeply rooted corruption.

6 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

+23 Vote up Vote down

unsuckdcmetro 92p · 738 weeks ago

May I suggest decaf?

-12 Vote up Vote down

Corresponding Toads · 738 weeks ago

Mr. Coffee u r my hero and I suggest you quit drinking coffee because hypertension kills and I need you to be alive so you can put unsuck in his place. all he does is NAAG NAAG NAAG! so tired of it, just like you Mr. Coffee. you can call me Mr. Water if you'd like. that's my jam right there.

much love,
the corresponding toads kid

+11 Vote up Vote down

Anon · 738 weeks ago

Please do not sit next to me. If I get burned by your spilled coffee, Metro won't be the only one I'd sue...

+3 Vote up Vote down

um... · 738 weeks ago

You can carry the coffee on, just not drink it. I'm assuming the none drank coffee can spill just like the coffee being sipped.

-1 Vote up Vote down

Mr. Donut · 738 weeks ago

Why do you feel entitled, Mr. Coffee? I don't get it. The no food and no drink policy keeps the rats away, reduces the amount of trash, stains and smell in the Metro cars and reduces the number of lawsuits that will undoubtedly occur when someone spills hot coffee on another or one slips on a banana peel walking through the car to their seat. ;-)

You are on the Metro for what, less than 35 minutes at most and you can't wait to get your coffee between after you get off teh Metro on your way to your place of business like most others? Have some self-control and learn to live in a society instead of Mr. Coffee's world. You are also probably one of those people who isolate themselves from the world with headphones and loud music making you unaware that you are blocking the aisle when someone needs to get through to the exit or nearly getting hit by a truck because you don't see the DO NOT WALK sign flashing while you saunter on your merry way across the road sipping your latte.

-3 Vote up Vote down

Mr. Coffee · 738 weeks ago

Keep chugging that Kool Aid, Mr, Donut. The people from the Metro who peruse this site should take notice....your advertising attempts to divert people's attention away from Metro's real issues are working! Look, this person just regurgitated the wording from an ad as if it were their own original thought!

You raise a good point, though. The "No Food" BS is just to cover their asses much like the "No Stage Diving" signs at clubs. It's lip service until someone tries to sue.

I'm glad you feel the need to refrain from coffee on the Metro. Your job must be cushy, or maybe you just aren't coordinated enough to hold onto a cup while sitting down. I tend to give most humans the benefit of the doubt. Not everyone is a mongoloid who can't control themselves enough not to spill...and they might even take their trash with them (but never a stray Examiner).

Some guy was drinking coffee next to me on the Metro today, and guess what I did. Nothing. No secret picture. No condescending attitude. But I guess, as someone who drops more than $1500 a year on the Metro, I shouldn't feel entitled to anything. They're doing me a favor, I guess.

+4 Vote up Vote down

Tyler D · 738 weeks ago

If anything, the sign proves that the food/drink rules are anti-rider and out of touch. Taborn and Sarles, stop paying lip service to the rules and start making the trains run on time.

2 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

+6 Vote up Vote down

bet · 738 weeks ago

Maybe the spilled coffee will mask the urine odor.

-3 Vote up Vote down

@kara_h · 738 weeks ago

I thought they were just different states of the same thing? :)

+1 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 738 weeks ago

Only a matter of time before staff are directed to break out the duct tape and cover up "on the metro" because, you know, they are slaves and all.

+5 Vote up Vote down

Ever Anon · 738 weeks ago

Speaking of signs. Metro has one I saw on a train yesterday about 8 inches of snow stopping above ground movement. It has something to do with "if only our cars could clip on..."? I do not get the joke. Clip onto what? I'd feel stupid except... it's Metro! (hah!)

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

-4 Vote up Vote down

@kara_h · 738 weeks ago

It is one of those things that all their 80k-making workers must assume is common knowledge.

+5 Vote up Vote down

Guest · 738 weeks ago

Apparently litter is the #1 problem on the trains:
http://dcist.com/2011/02/will_such_a_reminder_als...

So much wose than savage teens attacking people, huge delays, doors opening too soon, rude and apathetic employees and people getting killed by the trains!

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

+3 Vote up Vote down

anonymous · 738 weeks ago

So much better played here.

+2 Vote up Vote down

guest · 738 weeks ago

That's some serious, a-one, grade a Metro weaseling right there.

+11 Vote up Vote down

Corresponding Toads · 738 weeks ago

According to the update unsuck posted, you can carry coffee on metro, but not drink it. So the ad should read something like this:

"I REALIZED the only fuel I need on metro is a great cup of coffee that I either drink before I get on the train or after I exit the station but if you see me with a cup of coffee on metro, you're damn right it's Green Mountain Coffee and I can guarantee you that I am only holding it for later."

+2 Vote up Vote down

jmm · 738 weeks ago

Does anyone ever gently remind people of the rules when they see this, or do they just gripe about it to the internet at large? When I see people leave trash behind, I often will chime in with a "Sir, you left your xxx behind". Most people, so far, are fairly gracious about it.. So far..

2 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

-4 Vote up Vote down

@kara_h · 738 weeks ago

Yes.

+1 Vote up Vote down

UnSuck Fan · 738 weeks ago

Yes I have, but all I get in return is a Holier-Then-Thou glare! Guess they can't stand having their precious breakfast interrupted!

Oh, and as ashamed as I am to say this, I had to remind my own family members not to eat on the train. How they're related to me, I don't know.

+6 Vote up Vote down

gac · 738 weeks ago

I find that the cup of coffee doesn't help much unless I drink it. What a stupid position to put yourself in - advertising something that's against your own rules, then having to defend it and pretend that your riders only "carry" their coffee on Metro.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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anon · 738 weeks ago

Not only that, but look at the slogan, that the coffee is the only fuel that rider needs on the Metro.

Call me crazy, but if you're only holding a cup of coffee... it ain't fueling you.

+5 Vote up Vote down

Joe · 738 weeks ago

in FW station, it is directly across from the sign that says "metro is not a diner, please don't treat it like one." I actually have a picture of both on my phone and was about to send...

+3 Vote up Vote down

@kara_h · 738 weeks ago

"But officer! you can not ticket me, I was drinking the coffee brand that your company's ads convinced me to buy!" :)

-5 Vote up Vote down

@etoile · 738 weeks ago

Coffee should be exempt from no-drinking rules during morning rush. Gotta get that caffeine.

/facetious

+5 Vote up Vote down

Mr. Clean · 738 weeks ago

Mr. Coffee, Mr. Donut:

Please be nicer.

0 Vote up Vote down

@kara_h · 738 weeks ago

re: the update

Who in the world carries a cup of a drink without a lid (see the sign) unless they are consuming it? Or even if they do, might there be a spillage issue (which is what the no drinking rule wants to avoid)?

+1 Vote up Vote down

guest · 738 weeks ago

I saw a metro police officer carrying a cup of coffee on the train. I got his badge number, and called the deputy chief when I got to my office. I told the deputy that it was awfully hard to enforce the no eating no drinking rules when metro police officers carry coffee on the trains. I reminded the deputy that when I was a proscutor in the mid-80's, metro officers routinely demaned that people pour out their coffee, or not board the train. The deputy hemmed and hawed, but finally agreed to speak to the officer's supervisor. The metro police department has deteriorated, along with the rest of the system.

0 Vote up Vote down

ANON · 738 weeks ago

Idiot, you can carry coffee just not drink it.

-7 Vote up Vote down

ANON · 738 weeks ago

If you people hate the metro so much stop using the system. That goes for you also kara you think it is so dirty, Why would you want to ride.
STOP RIDING, THE REST OF US THAT DO NOT COMPLAIN DON'T WANT YOU ON THE TRAIN.

2 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

0 Vote up Vote down

@kara_h · 737 weeks ago

Ever think maybe you are the one that should not be riding the train that we are on? Pardon me for expecting metro to meet the minimal standards for public mass transit. As to not riding, my only other option is to take a cab to and from work every day and that is not going to happen.

Oh, and if you have not noticed, most of the posts here do not praise metro unless they (quite rarely) get something right. We can hardly be criticized for metro's mess-ups.

-3 Vote up Vote down

ANON · 737 weeks ago

Buy a car we don't want you on the train.

-3 Vote up Vote down

bet · 737 weeks ago

Nasty begets nasty. A

-9 Vote up Vote down

caitlyn · 737 weeks ago

good god people. it's a freaking cup of coffee. i drink my coffee on the train. are there gonna be cockroaches now? no. And FYI i've seen more cockroaches, mice, and birds in the DC metro than in the NYC subway. It's an amazing feeling to be able to drink your damn coffee on the train on the way to somewhere and not have to awkwardly hold it for 30 minutes (with 20 minute waits at freakin l'enfent plaza) and not be able to drink god forbid one of you tight asses comes up to me and says something. Get over it. metro is already dirty. im going to bring my coffee and drink it to.

4 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

-3 Vote up Vote down

@kara_h · 737 weeks ago

Yes, it will attract bugs. Especially the sugar that I assume you have in it.

Hmm, maybe I should stop by the coffee machine in the morning and get a cup to carry (sans lid of course). Then when a station manager yells at me just point to the sign and shrug.

-4 Vote up Vote down

mr metro · 737 weeks ago

yeah then you can blog about the rude station manager.

-2 Vote up Vote down

@kara_h · 737 weeks ago

I only complain when they are rude in violation of their duties. As relevant to this, that means not doing something when someone is consuming food/beverages or doing something when someone is just holding it, as per the directive they have.

"Update from Metro: The ad does not violate any of our Guidelines Governing Commercial Advertising. It is not illegal to carry coffee on the Metro – just to drink it. Any changes to the guidelines would need to be amended by the Board of Directors to prohibit this ad."

I do not drink coffee. I would literally just be carrying it (or even just an empty cup), it exact obedience to their own rules.

+4 Vote up Vote down

Mr. Donut · 737 weeks ago

Really? You too feel entitled? Look around you when you are on the Metro tomorrow, the National Coffee Association estimates that 77% of people over the age of 18 drink coffee and Metro estimates that over 700,000 people ride Metro each day. Do you see 539,000 people holding coffee cups each day you ride the Metro?

No, you don't! ;-)

Why, you ask? It isn't because those people wouldn't love to indulge in a cup of coffee while enjoying their ride in an overcrowded train that frequently malfunctions. A recent impromptu survey I took says it's because the majority of people understand the world does not revolve around them and that they are living in a larger society that would be chaos without rules and guidelines. :-0

-4 Vote up Vote down

Caitlyn · 737 weeks ago

no sugar in my coffee. and i dont spill it. anything will attract bugs. like water.... hey, i've seen almost every metro station dripping with puddles of nasty water everywhere too