Poorly thought out transit marketing

 I write from time to time about transit marketing and public communications wrt transportation, like messaging on not drinking and driving, and how it usually isn't particularly good.  Some agencies do a particularly good job though (although maybe it's just that the bar for good is so low?).

METRA, the commuter railroad in Greater Chicago seems to have forgotten that some people use railroads as a way to commit suicide ("Metra billboard sparks alternative, grim interpretation on social media," Chicago Sun-Times).

It would have been easy to do a clear billboard showing lots of traffic versus an easy train ride. But the ad is dowdy, text and a boring image of a train locomotive with the Metra logo.

The 405 Freeway during rush hour in Los Angeles, California. The US consumes about a fifth of the world’s oil output © Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images.

And the environmental benefits are another selling point.

Image: AA1Car.