A few weeks ago, I took a picture of this ad I found on the NY Subway and forgot to do anything with it. I apologize, my mind was elsewhere — probably unpacking the trip’s later encounter with a young man who tried to elicit money from me by “tying my shoe for Jesus” and was then baffled by the way I wear my laces*.
Anyway, thanks to my Twitter friends @Thalesdisciple and @mackenzief, this ad is back on my radar and can finally get the ridicule it deserves.
First, the logo looks like a butthole. I’m sorry to start on such a crass note, but come on, that’s just a horrible choice. With that out of the way, let’s look at the chart.
This chart is designed to suggest that speck cases are for everybody — everybody from bikers to subway riders to both. This is an ad targeted to subway riders and we are on the subway, so we are to respond favorably.
Here’s how the graph breaks down:
- The very middle makes sense — there are people who bike and ride the subway and take their bikes on the subway.
- The top intersection makes sense — there are people who bike and ride the subway yet do not take their bikes on the subway.
- The left intersection makes very little sense — these are people who bike and whose bikes ride the subway but who do not themselves. So I guess other people are taking their bikes on the subway. That seems an odd population.
- The right intersection makes less sense. These people ride the subway and have bikes that ride the subway but do not bike. So, they just walk bikes around the subway? Are they strictly bike transporters?
Horrible. This is clearly a case of the following logic: charts are cool, we are about “everybody” so let’s put together a marketing campaign around the idea that the middle of a Venn Diagram is “everybody” and make some clever Venn Diagrams; it’s perfect — high concept, witty, colorful, hip with the kids — we are geniuses.
Nope.
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*I suspect my lacing first led him to believe that my shoes were not tied and needed the help of he and his savior.
photo credit: Mary Childs
