M.T.A. Will Ban Alcohol Advertising on Buses and Subways

[N6 Limited]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/25/nyregion/alcohol-advertising-mta-subway.html

 

Quote

 

M.T.A. Will Ban Alcohol Advertising on Buses and Subways

By LUIS FERRÉ-SADURNÍ OCT. 25, 2017

The board of the Metropolitan T ransportation Authority on Wednesday banned advertising of alcoholic beverages on New Y ork City buses, subway cars an d stations, contending that the social benefits of deterring underage drinking outweighed the loss of revenue.

After years of pressure from grass-roots or ganizations, the board voted unanimously in favor of the ban, which will go into ef fect in January.

Advocates have long said that alcohol advertising is a public health issue and that the proliferation of such advertising increases the likelihood of underage drinking.

“Alcohol advertisements on the M.T .A. are disproportionally tar geting communities of color, lower-income communities and also young people,” said Jazmin R ivera, a spokeswoman for Building Alcohol Ad-Free T ransit.

The authority’s ad space has long been a battleground for debates over free speech and decency. After Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s office complained about a breast enhancement ad in 2014, of ficials worked with advertisers to make sure ads were not too racy. 11/18/2017 M.T.A. Will Ban Alcohol Advertising on Buses and Subways - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/25/nyregion/alcohol-advertising-mta-subway.html 2/3

In 2015, the board voted to ban political advertising on subways and buses to avoid legal challenges it had faced in rejecting some ads with political messages. Tobacco advertising has been banned in the transit system since 1992. The estimated $2 million in revenue derived each year from alcohol advertising is a minuscule figure compared with the authority’ s budget, said Joseph J. Lhota, the chairman of the authority . The authority expects to receive about $15.5 billion in revenue in 2017.

The authority, he said, was not concerned about making up for lost revenue, especially as the system begins to modernize.

“When advertisers understand that we have approximately 1.6 million people every single day through the system — it’ s a fabulous place to advertise,” Mr . Lhota said.

Effective immediately, the agency will no longer accept new alcohol-related ads; existing contracts for such ads will be honored until the contracts expire at the end of the year.

The decision disappointed alcohol trade associations, which have confronted a growing number of alcohol advertising bans in cities across the country .

“Science and research show that there is no benefit to banning this type of advertising,” said Jay Hibbard, vice president of government relations for the Distilled Spirits Council.

Mr. Hibbard said the majority of the American population, about 71.6 percent, was above the legal drinking age. Parents, not advertisements, are the greatest influence on preventing underage drinking, he said.

“This is not advertising on school buses,” Mr . Hibbard said. “This is advertising on a public transportation system.” The board is still discussing how the measure will af fect the partnerships it has with Connecticut on Metro-North Railroad trains, and with New Jersey on New Jersey Transit. 11/18/2017 M.T.A. Will Ban Alcohol Advertising on Buses and Subways - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/25/nyregion/alcohol-advertising-mta-subway.html 3/3

Underage drinking leads to over 7,000 emergency-room visits in New York City hospitals a year, said Councilman Daniel Dromm, a Democrat representing Jackson Heights, Queens.

“I’m 26 years clean and sober , and it’s a personal issue for me,” said Mr . Dromm, who introduced a resolution in the Council urging the authority to ban alcohol ads. “I know the detrimental effect this type o f advertising has on young people.”

 

1) Cutting a revenue stream when they need revenue?

2) The vast majority of passengers are adults.

3) Isn't the main "advertisement" of alcohol for under aged individuals peer pressure?

[Deucey]

Right, cuz teenagers drink after seeing ads. Nevermind that people and teens have been drinking since before proto-languages had a word for teenager.

 

[CenSin]

3 hours ago, Deucey said:

Right, cuz teenagers drink after seeing ads. Nevermind that people and teens have been drinking since before proto-languages had a word for teenager.

 

Never mind that drinking predates language.

[CenSin]

5 hours ago, N6 Limited said:

Quote

The authority, he said, was not concerned about making up for lost revenue, especially as the system begins to modernize.

“When advertisers understand that we have approximately 1.6 million people every single day through the system — it’ s a fabulous place to advertise,” Mr . Lhota said.

 

Why is the ad revenue still so underwhelming then, Mr. Lhota?

[Eric B]

Great! Dinkins had gotten them out of the subway, but Guiliani put them back (and of course Bloomberg kept them as well).

I hadn't been seeing as many as before anyway.

[Future ENY OP]

10 hours ago, Eric B said:

Great! Dinkins had gotten them out of the subway, but Guiliani put them back (and of course Bloomberg kept them as well).

I hadn't been seeing as many as before anyway.

Besides, There's an liquor ad on most buses in the Brooklyn Division right now with exception of Ulmer Park and Gleason.. Unless they replaced it with the vision zero ads that are popping up. 

[QM1to6Ave]

They need to re-vamp the advertising in general. There are so many more ways they can milk money from big companies through advertising. 

[Deucey]

2 hours ago, QM1to6Ave said:

They need to re-vamp the advertising in general. There are so many more ways they can milk money from big companies through advertising. 

I mean...

If  had forward thinkers, they could've set up MetroCard to be like a prepaid card - like GreenDot - to require some demographic info for the holder, and then use that data along with MetroCard utilization data to not only adjust service levels, but to also milk advertising rates by demographic so it generates more money.

If they know that the L train ridership is 300k and that 170k of that ridership is 18-36, charge more for ad space on L trains and run the ads for less time.

And for NTTs on Express runs between stations, use the speaker system for higher-cost ads like AM radio commercials.

There are ways to more effectively monetize ads on the trains to drive more revenue. They just need forward thinkers to start thinking and implementing.

[bobtehpanda]

7 hours ago, Deucey said:

I mean...

If  had forward thinkers, they could've set up MetroCard to be like a prepaid card - like GreenDot - to require some demographic info for the holder, and then use that data along with MetroCard utilization data to not only adjust service levels, but to also milk advertising rates by demographic so it generates more money.

If they know that the L train ridership is 300k and that 170k of that ridership is 18-36, charge more for ad space on L trains and run the ads for less time.

And for NTTs on Express runs between stations, use the speaker system for higher-cost ads like AM radio commercials.

There are ways to more effectively monetize ads on the trains to drive more revenue. They just need forward thinkers to start thinking and implementing.

The ACLU would have a field day if a government entity seriously considered doing this.

[LGA Link N Train]

On 11/18/2017 at 5:49 PM, Deucey said:

Right, cuz teenagers drink after seeing ads. Nevermind that people and teens have been drinking since before proto-languages had a word for teenager.

i don't think I know any teen that drinks and yet im a teen myself, at least I'll never drink (by choice). While banning Alcohol Advertisments is important, I feel that the MTA should also ban sex related ads (I'm pretty sure that anyone who rides the subway here would know what I'm talking about)

[RR503]

36 minutes ago, LGA Link N train said:

i don't think I know any teen that drinks and yet im a teen myself, at least I'll never drink (by choice). While banning Alcohol Advertisments is important, I feel that the MTA should also ban sex related ads (I'm pretty sure that anyone who rides the subway here would know what I'm talking about)

Oh honey... 

Teens love their beer...

(that said I agree with all who think this is just a bunch of paranoid parents being, well, paranoid) 

[CenSin]

The Prohibition Era didn’t teach us anything it seems. The more you push against something, the more it pushes back against you. It’s Newton’s third law applied to people.

[paulrivera]

5 hours ago, LGA Link N train said:

i don't think I know any teen that drinks and yet im a teen myself, at least I'll never drink (by choice). While banning Alcohol Advertisments is important, I feel that the MTA should also ban sex related ads (I'm pretty sure that anyone who rides the subway here would know what I'm talking about)

"Mommy Daddy Hello Parent, what's a 'Museum of Sex?'" should never be something that you hear a child ask their mother father parent (or legal guardian.)

On a side note, It is so hard to be politically correct...

[LTA1992]

I hope they know how futile this is. 

I mean really.

[LGA Link N Train]

8 hours ago, paulrivera said:

"Mommy Daddy Hello Parent, what's a 'Museum of Sex?'" should never be something that you hear a child ask their mother father parent (or legal guardian.)

On a side note, It is so hard to be politically correct...

That's true, so why doesn't the MTA ban that, TBH those Advertisements are annoying 

[CenSin]

3 hours ago, LGA Link N train said:

That's true, so why doesn't the MTA ban that, TBH those Advertisements are annoying 

The worst part is: the women on those advertisements are not sexy; one look at them dismisses thoughts about sex.

[B35 via Church]

If it weren't enough w/ the removal of trashcans in some stations, the threat of banning food & drinks became a thing, now I'm reading about banning alcohol advertisements..... For the love of all that is holy, why don't these suits shut up & ban themselves for a change!

[bobtehpanda]

On 11/22/2017 at 9:54 PM, paulrivera said:

"Mommy Daddy Hello Parent, what's a 'Museum of Sex?'" should never be something that you hear a child ask their mother father parent (or legal guardian.)

On a side note, It is so hard to be politically correct...

It's come to this, where parents have no responsibility or maturity to tell their children about things that are really not that awkward or abnormal in other countries. First they weren't responsible for the education, then they weren't responsible for the drinking, and now this.

"Of course they gonna know what intercourse is, by the time they hit 4th grade,
They got the discovery channel don't they?"

[Lance]

You joke, but watch someone call for the Discovery Channel to be banned for showing animal sex.

On the subject at hand, if the MTA wants to ban alcohol related advertising, more power to them. However, they can stop pretending they're actually doing something to combat underage drinking. These kids are not being convinced by some ad they saw on the subway or the bus. They're drinking because they see their friends, family, etc. drinking and feel it's okay.