Amtrak Advertising In Your Market?

[ColdRain&Snow]

Amtrak ran an ad yesterday in the Los Angeles Times with the "Get from Point A to Point Be" theme, accentuating the relaxing onboard activities such as having a glass of Merlot and ditching the To-Do list. As the train is rushing by a lakeshore, an attractive older woman is taking it all in with a peaceful smile. Sure could relate to her.

 

[leemell]

I've seen TV commercials here off and on over the past three years or so, They have been fairly generic for taking LD trips. There have been bullboards, I've seen some along US 101 in Ventura, San Luis Obispo. Print ads in the papers, LA Times, The Daily News, Burbank Leader. Some for the Surfliner as well.

 

[rtabern]

Here in Milwaukee... we get the very rare TV commercial promoting the Hiawatha down to Chicago... but I-94, which is the main interstate between Milwaukee and Chicago... it pretty saturated with billboard advertising for the Hiawatha. I wish there were more advertisement here in Milwaukee for the Empire Builder... I think more people would take it if they knew they could get to the West Coast (or even MSP) without the hassle of going through Chicago.

 

[Shawn Ryu]

While not for Amtrak pre-say there was a cell phone commercial out for a while that featured a Surfliner Train. In the commercial we never see any logos; but any astute railfan would recognize the train.

peter

I thought that was a Metrolink train in los Angeles

 

[saxman]

I have seen a couple commercials here in the Dallas Fort Worth area. I could be totally making this up, but it seems like I saw one during the World Series? Or maybe it was the ACLS playoff's. I can't remember.

 

[Roadfool]

I haven't seen one lately, but they were running Amtrak California ads on our local tv stations for awhile. Each ad had one destination city and listed the fare, so they at least made people aware of how cheap it is to ride the train to San Francisco or Yosemite or wherever.

 

[Pastor Dave]

I haven't seen any advertising in the Pocono Mountains of PA, but have seen ads on the dasher boards at the hockey arenas of PHL and TRE. I'd guess that Amtrak does a good job advertising along the NEC.

 

[Eric S]

Here in Milwaukee... we get the very rare TV commercial promoting the Hiawatha down to Chicago... but I-94, which is the main interstate between Milwaukee and Chicago... it pretty saturated with billboard advertising for the Hiawatha. I wish there were more advertisement here in Milwaukee for the Empire Builder... I think more people would take it if they knew they could get to the West Coast (or even MSP) without the hassle of going through Chicago.

From time to time I've heard Hiawatha commercials on radio stations in Milwaukee, although I think they mention they are produced by WisDOT rather than Amtrak.

 

[dlagrua]

Living in NJ the Amtrak TV ads run frequently but with heavy emphasis on the Acela and NE corridor. I guess that should be expected as the NE corridor is Amtraks most profitable and most traveled route. I don't see Amtrak spending much money for the LD routes as in many cases they are not competitive with other forms of transportation and far slower.

 

[bmorechris]

Amtrak advertises pretty heavily for the Acela during Washington Capitals hockey games on tv here. Most commercial breaks last night had a very well done commerical for the Acela. During the game they use the "Acela Express Telestrator" and one of the Club level areas at the Verizon Center is called the "Acela Club". Makes a lot of sense considering the popularity of the Capitals in recent years and that hockey tends to attract a good number of well off fans who would be more likely to use the Acela for business and leisure travel.

 

[RTOlson]

For the AT&T cell phone commercial, I thought it was a Surfliner set based on car color, the seat type and the large curve of what would likely be the accessible restroom.

Amtrak California has advertised in the Sacramento area, including these TV spots. I've also seen Capitol Corridor ads rotate in the displays at Candlestick Park during San Francisco 49ers games.

 

[Tracktwentynine]

In the Washington TV market, I see that AT&T commercial all the time; I agree with RTOlson that it appears to be a Surfliner. I also see full-page ads in the Washington Post frequently. They've also had some smaller "Point A, Point Be" ads in the Post.

And for at least 7 years now, Amtrak has been "sponsoring" Georgia Tech first downs at home on the jumbotron. It appears from what GTfan said above, that they've upgraded their graphics. It used to just be an animated steam whistle.

And in October, when I was in Portland and saw Cascades ads on bus shelters.

 

[eagle628]

I always liked the ads I saw in Chicago O'Hare airport last winter...I could be making this up, but didn't amtrak advertise in the bottom of those trays you put your stuff on to go through the x-rays at airports at some point?

 

[Tracktwentynine]

I always liked the ads I saw in Chicago O'Hare airport last winter...I could be making this up, but didn't amtrak advertise in the bottom of those trays you put your stuff on to go through the x-rays at airports at some point?

Yes. They did that at several airports. I'm pretty sure I saw them in the bins at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta. They said something to the effect of "On Amtrak, no one will know your socks don't match."

 

[Rail Freak]

AMYTRAK ad on HISTORY CHANNEL. (Knology)