"It"

" Bonjour Paris! Finally, my cousin and I have returned to his hometown! I am so excited to be here, because Paris is one of those cities I feel like I could live in. It's so unbelievably big, I'd never run out of things to do. Unfortunately, I speak zero French, and seeing as how this is France, that could be a problem. Anyway, today my cousin and I arrived here by train early in the morning, and immediately we headed off to catch the metro back into town. My cousin's loft is in downtown Paris, so we will be headed right past the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe! Unfortunately, to get to the metro station that he has a pass for, we had to do quite a bit of walking. Cobblestones are not very forgiving. Finally, as we walked down the steps into "Opera," the metro station that he uses everyday to get from his loft to work, he gave this really goofy grin. "What?" I said. "Nothing. I just think you are going to like today's advertisements the best. It's a little different from your typical poster." As the stairs ended and we walked onto the platform, I thought my legs were going to give out. Then I saw couches. Couches and blown up images of bookcases, kitchens, and sitting rooms. They were plastered on the walls and the couches and chairs sat just below them. I noticed that the top of one of the image said IKEA. Then it clicked. I turned to my cousin and just laughed. Then I ran over and jumped right on top of his innovative, new advertisement. He, in a partnership with IKEA, the international home store, had placed their new line of furniture in the metro. He used his own photos to create a homey feeling, and there something hilarious about the whole thing. Large price tags hung from the furniture, and as a metro car rolled in and people exited, I saw a hundred eyes widen. Just when I thought the ads had gotten as crazy and creative as possible, my cousin pulled another trick out of the hat. And a good one at that."

The Paris Metro showcase is truly a brilliant idea. By placing an interactive ad in the middle of the most frequented part of the city, the Metro, my cousin guaranteed that IKEA would get huge exposure. The perfect ad to market "It." "It" is whatever product an advertisement features, and that's the end goal right? To market your product. So instead of waiting around on tired feet, like I would have had to, Parisians and tourists alike can sit down and relax. It gives them a comfortable place to read the news, drink some coffee, or eat a breakfast pastry. All the while, they are testing a product, and since the couches are guaranteed to be comfortable, IKEA is bound to have a whole new batch of customers. It is the perfect way to market their product: by allowing potential customers to give it a test run. In fact, the idea was so genius, it made me have a couple epiphanies of my own. I wondered how successful the ad was and what ties it had to the public transportation system. So I did a little research. Here's what I learned:


These Metro ads - are they more or less effective than street advertisements? Why is this type of advertising effective? Is it only effective because of the high usage rates of public transportation?


Honestly it depends on where you are. In a city like the one I live in at home, where there is no train or subway system, this type of advertising wouldn't be as successful. But in a gigantic city like Paris, where without public transportation society would not be able to function, these advertisements are perfect. In my hometown, street ads like billboards are going to be more effective, because the roads are where the largest groups of people congregate (kind of sad, huh?). But in the urban sprawl that is Paris, Metro ads guarantee that you will reach a huge audience.


The fact that the ad is interactive and made to appeal to people who might be weary for a number of reasons is a surefire way to reach your target audience. The fact that the furniture is in such an odd place will definitely draw attention. Then, considering that the alternative is to stand on hard concrete, the lure of comfort will bring people to sit down. Once they sit down, enjoy the comfortable furniture, and see the posters of a homey environment, they are hooked. "It" has been successfully marketed, and the only thing left for them to do is check the pricetag.

This is the science of advertising. Find out what people like, what they are attracted to. By making use of things like bright colors, contrast (the clean furniture in the grungy metro), and by appealing to the human desire to be comfortable, advertising in the metro is a calculated endeavor. In the brain, we are wired to be drawn to certain things, and if advertisers can pounce on those things and exploit our weaknesses as consumers, they've got us. That's not to say that advertising is bad, however. Who wouldn't want a brand new, lime green, sink-into-the-seat comfortable couch? By using things that stimulate our brain, advertisers guarantee that we will be drawn to their product, and in the end, that's what its all about. Get the people to the product. If you can do that, your mission as an advertiser is accomplished.