Rare Kudo for SEPTA

Has anybody seen the new SEPTA TV commercials. The advertising agency (whomever they may be) made the content pretty hip. Screenshots during voice-overs represent the thoughts of the individual portrayed by the main actor in the commercial.

The screenplay ends with a side shot of a bus or Silverliner focused on the door, after which a graphic display shows the tag line (which says something like) "A million reasons to call this home, we take you to every one." Underneath is a faux transit map linking Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties in a horizontal line.

A lot of thought appears to have been put into these commercials. The people portrayed by the main actors are obviously well educated and upscale. It is one of the most positive presentations I've seen.

However, despite all this, the commercial has only been observed during broadcast in the early morning hours, scheduled around the newscasts. Maybe thats a good time, I don't know. If somebody is rushing around in the morning, I don't think this is going to change their travel habits on the same day. Maybe the next.

The biggist incentive would be if SEPTA could support the commercial with anything approaching attractive service.

The biggist incentive would be if SEPTA could support the commercial with anything approaching attractive service.

Sad, funny, and true; all at the same time. "Moscow does not believe in tears!"

Seriously, I agree about the quality of the commercials. I was greatly surprised at such advertising initiaitive. It's high time the agency reverses the long downhill slide w.r.t. its ads. Remember that from 1980 to 1995, we fell from "Septa: You can't beat the system!" to "Septa: We're getting there." The former was prevalent when the railroad still had half-hour service during the off-peak hours (!), there were still city trolleys aside from the 5 subway-surface tunnel lines, and 80-mph Bullets aced the Rt. 100 schedule times. The latter...well, the less said, the better. One can practically smell the desperation.

If the downward spiral in service quality continues despite the new upward trend in ad sophistication, those dollars will simply be wasted.

I agree with all of Franklin's points above. The ad filmed on board the Silverliner shows that it's running at all of about 35 mph. Newtown Jct's been "improved" with sharper, lower-speed switches, so maybe that's where they were running when they made the ad? To me, marketing goes beyond making ads - it extends to keeping your vehicles clean, your riders informed (how many SEPTA stations even have clocks?!), and your staff courteous and helpful. The ads are a start, but there's a lot to be done.

And its really funny because SEPTA's operations people were crossing their fingers that the married pair in that commercial didn't break down while filming. They gave that set a little 'extra' attention at Robert's ave. and even made the yard crews take it through the car wash a few times.

They don't necessarily have to make people take the train for the ads to be effective. It's all about building brand and the image. If you can get voters to have a positive impression about SEPTA, they're more likely to fund it.

I have another Kudo for Septa, although it many not be entirely to septa's credit but they seem good at making rail equipment last a very long time, the bullets were 60 something?, the blueliners were about 65, and the silverliner IIs and IIs are both pushing 50 years old now.

silverliner266 wrote:I have another Kudo for Septa, although it many not be entirely to septa's credit but they seem good at making rail equipment last a very long time, the bullets were 60 something?, the blueliners were about 65, and the silverliner IIs and IIs are both pushing 50 years old now.

The Silverliner II's and III's are running on fumes, almost literally, and the IV's are not far behind them. The Budds and Louis' should have been scrapped years ago. They are truly obsolete in 2006, compared with the rest of modern rail vehicles available. Don't get me wrong, a good set of Budds, and there are not that many of them left, are just fine for the Reading side of SEPTA rail operations, but anything on the corridor should be a no-no for them. Besides a few exceptional units, they are all CRAP!!!!!!!!!!

Returning to the original subject of the post, an full page congratulation ad recently appeared in the Inky announcing Philadelphia region advert industry production winners. The agency the produced the SEPTA ads actually won a prize for that series of TV commercials.

Here is a Kudo for Septa: they updated the regional rail schedule page on their website. It is now much easier to use than having to look throught the PDF files.