I happened upon this ad for Minnesota's SouthWest Transit, just as the law in Ontario against handheld cellphone use kicks in. The timing is perfect and the advantage that transit offers the multitasking addict is driven home in busloads.image via

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From time to time Pushing Buses happens on a link or nugget of information or page that just happens to help us all push buses - or trains or LRT. This simple interactive page from the outstanding online mag GOOD,

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In a campaign that builds off its first spot, posted earlier on Pushing buses here De Lijn continues to promote buses in Brussels as vehicles of social good. It's turning out to be a light (no pun intended), likeable campaign

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Barrett and Welsh, submitted 5 entries in this year's Summit Creative Awards, an international award show that recognizes the creative work of small/independent agencies. All five entries won. Four of them (2 gold, 2 silver) were for York Region Transit's

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C'mon folks. Admit you've been here. You've got the t-shirt. Now ask yourself, on which side of the table were you?Article and blog, copyright Gavin Barrett 2009

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"Sweet ride promised in $1.22B streetcars" says the Toronto Star."Bombardier wins massive Toronto streetcar contract" says the Globe and Mail.Yes indeed, this is good news - good news for transit, for manufacturing in Ontario (the new cars will be made

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Brands began as marks burned onto rumps of rawhide.Many brands are still that today, and, often enough, even less than that: just marks minus the life they were imprinted on.The most successful brands step beyond the boundaries imposed by design.Even

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This is a good example of bad advertising that I recently stumbled on. (Tripped over?) What was OC Transpo thinking? A bad visual pun, a poorly executed ad. Tacky. Whoops - did I just say exactly what I felt? My

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As a long-time poet and poetry promoter, I thought I'd use the excuse of April to nod at the odd appearance of buses and trains in verse. This excerpt of Philip Larkin's spectacular The Whitsun Weddings begins on board a

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Here's a spot from Brussels that pushes buses in a way designed to appeal to the social animal in all of us.Advertising Agency: Duval Guillaume Brussels, BelgiumCreative Directors: Peter Ampe, Bottez KatrienCreation: Hans Kerkhoff, Raoul MarisTV Producers: Emily Rammant, Marc

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Understand a fraction. Know zero. See India Reborn on CBC. Tonight at 8 pm and again at 9.

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This hilarious ad (seen here in situ) from Dublin sells safety with a smile if the reaction of riders is anything to go by. Yay Dublin.Article and blog, copyright Gavin Barrett 2009

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A couple of years ago we were handed a challenging assignment by Viva.They wanted to make university students a core rider group, and make transit a behavioural choice for a new generation or riders. And oh, while doing that, they

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Barrett and Welsh is heading out to San Francisco. Gavin Barrett, Creative Director | Partner, Rao, Barrett and Welsh and Pushing Buses author, will be attending the APTA Marketing and Communications Workshop at the Hilton San Francisco Financial District. We're

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I'm proud to announce that Los Angeles Transportation Headlines, one of the world's most comprehensive aggregations of daily news on transit, transportation and urban planning, has included Pushing Buses in its Selected Blogs list.Article and blog, copyright Gavin Barrett 2009

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This lenticular poster from Australia promoting safety around rail lines and rail crossings is a perfect match between idea and medium. One second, there's nothing there. The next...Now that's creative that hits you like a train.Article and blog, copyright Gavin

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This 1999 poster from the Underground's advertising archives shows that great brands weren't born yesterday. An evocative precursor to the now well-established Making London Simple positioning, the poster makes the case for the Jubilee line with a single, intelligent sentence

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#3 in my series of Transit Logo Posters. This one's a collection of bus transit logos from around the world - and by no means is it the most comprehensive. As always, if you'd like a high resolution version (for

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In the advertising and media section of today's New York Times, Stuart Elliot features Acela's brand new campaign. In the wake of Amtrak's high-profile celebrity endorsements from the likes of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, its high speed rail service,

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Another logo "poster".This time it's a poster of the logos of a few major international rail transit brands.If you'd like a larger version, simply write to me and request a copy.Coming soon, reviews of individual logos and brand identities.Article, poster

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We've been very busy of late, redesigning brands or creating new branding for transit services. The process is usually elaborate and painstaking, and in order to do it right, I've had to traverse the universe of transit and transportation brands

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This exceedingly simple TV spot for German Rail says it all without words. Stille Nacht indeed!Agency (& City): Ogilvy Frankfurt Creative Director(s): Christian Mommertz, Dr. Stephan Vogel Copywriter(s): Dr. Stephan Vogel, Alexander Haase Art Director(s): Christian Mommertz, Kirsten Rosenberger, Marco

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A billboard headline is typically 10 words. Where on earth would an 82 word headline work on a billboard? On a Mumbai street of course, where the traffic crawls. Oh yes, Mumbai gridlock gives you plenty of time to reflect

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