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The T's safety dance

By adamg on Wed, 09/04/2013 - 9:09am

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Comments

By anon on Wed, 09/04/2013 - 9:26am.

And how much did this cost ME?!?!

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By adamg on Wed, 09/04/2013 - 9:50am.

The entire cost of producing the song and video was paid by the MBTA's advertising contractor, Titan.

General Manager Scott, who appears at the start of the video, said that "this creative campaign's strategy pairs important messages with images and easy-to-remember phrases, making these critical lessons both memorable and enjoyable."

Along with the catchy song and video, the campaign will also include hundreds of signs posted inside subway cars and buses as well as a "Safety Kit" that will be distributed in Boston Public Schools with the help of City Year. In honor of today's launch, the video will be shown hourly on the large digital TV screens at Harvard, Haymarket, Park, and North Stations. In the coming months, fifteen second clips of the video will be shown throughout the day on these innovative screens.

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By anon on Wed, 09/04/2013 - 12:25pm.

How did Titan pay for this? OOoooo profits from the MBTA you say!

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By anon on Wed, 09/04/2013 - 1:03pm.

should have gone to the MBTA.

The T's advertising contracts are such a sham. Bascially, as long as the T gets a fixed fee from the contractor every month, they're happy. The contractor pockets the rest.

Now if the T hired an advertising manager, an assistant ad manager, and an office assistant, and based their salaries on a percentage of the total advertising revenue generqated, the T would make far more revenue. Plus, you'd actually have faster ad turnover and less need for insulting "domination" campaigns.

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By anon on Wed, 09/04/2013 - 9:29am.

How is it SAFE to dance on a moving escalator?!?!

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By anon on Wed, 09/04/2013 - 9:53am.

I have to say that I thought the same thing. How many of them were holding the handrail???

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By anon on Wed, 09/04/2013 - 9:57am.

I think the escalator wasn't moving in that one shot and they had the camera move to make us think it was moving.

(I also was passing through Harvard station when they were shooting this video but I don't think I made it into the background of any shots- oh well!)

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By cybah on Wed, 09/04/2013 - 10:01am.

No. Just No.

Although I would have been happier if it was the Men Without Hats song...

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By octr202 on Wed, 09/04/2013 - 10:08am.

Somehow I don't think we'll see the MBTA ever topping the folks down in Melbourne (Australia, not Florida) when it comes to a transit safety video:

http://dumbwaystodie.com/

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By Elmer on Wed, 09/04/2013 - 7:50pm.

Probably my favorite promotional video by any transit system:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcC31r1BxBY

The music is based on the pretty three-note song the subway cars sing as they start up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-q4JUERkxU

It's such a cult classic, it even has imitations:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3Qu01WOq8I

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By adamg on Wed, 09/04/2013 - 11:44am.

Never play football in a train station:

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By Katia on Wed, 09/04/2013 - 12:31pm.

The Safety Dance video is a lot creepier now that I've seen Wicker Man.

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By Elmer on Wed, 09/04/2013 - 1:04pm.

.

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By Markk02474 on Thu, 09/05/2013 - 8:48am.

Despite the passing of years, Men Without Hats did a much catchier tune than what sounds like the guys drumming on plastic buckets outside stations. The clincher is using an actual dwarf. Can't the T show some diversity and find a dwarf and dress him up? Shorties are great, but dancing dwarfs make all the difference. Just ask the wizard.

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