Amtrak Advertising on PBS

[Penn Central]

Well, I turned on PBS this morning, and what did I see but an animated Acela going by :blink: ! I caught the last part of the words "...Amtrak is a proud sponsor of Thomas and Friends." The Amtrak logo apeared, then went away after a few seconds, and the ad ended. Sure enough, the next show was Thomas. I didn't know Amtrak aired any ads on TV at all, let alone PBS. Still, it seems like a good idea. If they could get the name 'Amtrak' into the mind of these Thomas-watching four-year olds, maybe they will remeber it (and tell their parents). Anyone else seen this ad?

 

[PerRock]

I haven't seen that Ad but I have anold VHS recording of the Ringling Brothers & Barnum Baily Circus, since it was a recoding off the TV there are ads and one of the ads is an Amtrak one....

peter

 

[wayman]

Well, I turned on PBS this morning, and what did I see but an animated Acela going by :blink: ! I caught the last part of the words "...Amtrak is a proud sponsor of Thomas and Friends." The Amtrak logo apeared, then went away after a few seconds, and the ad ended. Sure enough, the next show was Thomas. I didn't know Amtrak aired any ads on TV at all, let alone PBS. Still, it seems like a good idea. If they could get the name 'Amtrak' into the mind of these Thomas-watching four-year olds, maybe they will remeber it (and tell their parents). Anyone else seen this ad?

That's fantastic! I hope it will have an effect like that--kids are impressionable by ads and extremely passionate about Thomas, and parents are certainly aware of and indulge in their kids' Thomas enthusiasm (huge toy industry!). Natural combination and great thinking on Amtrak's part.

Lots of steam railways have special "Thomas Weekend"s where a full-size Thomas engine makes an appearance or pulls a train (like Strasburg), and some go as far as to have their own Thomas/Brio-compatible wooden trains for sale in the museum shop (like Durango & Silverton). Amtrak might do well to go one step further and sell a license to someone to produce Brio-sized Amtrak trains, if they haven't already. Get these into the hands of kids and the living rooms of parents and it can only be a good thing (not to mention the licensing revenue itself)!

When I was a kid, my railfanning family drove out to the Amtrak station some evenings to watch the Crescent come in (or some mornings, when we heard the northbound was a few hours late--especially when they were carrying a dozen or two express RoadRailers behind). And the local chapter of the NRHS sometimes had its meetings and holiday parties in Kemper Street Station (with a small break when train 19 arrived). It probably played no small part in my insistence that my mother and I take Amtrak when I was twelve on a vacation to Philadelphia, which may have been my first ride on Amtrak. (Though I was no stranger to riding passenger trains at that point, already having taken lots of rides on steam railways around the country with my parents, and behind the 611 and 1218 as well.)

 

[MrFSS]

I'm already working on my grandkids. My daughter, son in law and two kids with Thomas in NC last summer.

 

[sechs]

I didn't know Amtrak aired any ads on TV at all, let alone PBS.

I'll leave your mind at ease.... there are no advertisements on PBS; it simply isn't allowed.

Now, maybe you saw a sponsorship message....

 

[Penn Central]

I didn't know Amtrak aired any ads on TV at all, let alone PBS.

I'll leave your mind at ease.... there are no advertisements on PBS; it simply isn't allowed.

Now, maybe you saw a sponsorship message....

Well, okay, a sponsorship message, then. It amounts to the same thing, as far as Amtrak publicity is concerned.

 

[haolerider]

I didn't know Amtrak aired any ads on TV at all, let alone PBS.

I'll leave your mind at ease.... there are no advertisements on PBS; it simply isn't allowed.

Now, maybe you saw a sponsorship message....

Actually, if you watch most shows on PBS these days, the "sponsorships" have morphed into ads.........rather than the way it used to be with just the names of sponsors flashed on the screen. PBS has changed their rules considerably, to allow them to draw more revenue into their accounts. Amtrak is smart to focus on this younger market...........and subsequently their parents.

 

[dan72]

I noticed this ad a few years back as well when my oldest was really into Thomas. The spot also showed a brief glimpse of an Amtrak train crossing a landscape as well (about 3 seconds).

Dan

 

[nr272]

I didn't know Amtrak aired any ads on TV at all, let alone PBS.

I'll leave your mind at ease.... there are no advertisements on PBS; it simply isn't allowed.

Now, maybe you saw a sponsorship message....

Actually, if you watch most shows on PBS these days, the "sponsorships" have morphed into ads.........rather than the way it used to be with just the names of sponsors flashed on the screen. PBS has changed their rules considerably, to allow them to draw more revenue into their accounts. Amtrak is smart to focus on this younger market...........and subsequently their parents.

Yeah, I've noticed that too. At least they don't interupt the programs with ads.

 

[sechs]

I didn't know Amtrak aired any ads on TV at all, let alone PBS.

I'll leave your mind at ease.... there are no advertisements on PBS; it simply isn't allowed.

Now, maybe you saw a sponsorship message....

Actually, if you watch most shows on PBS these days, the "sponsorships" have morphed into ads.........rather than the way it used to be with just the names of sponsors flashed on the screen.

Not really. The sponsors have simply gotten more savvy about how they use that chance to associate their name with the program. You'll never see a product mentioned in one of these messages unless its used in the show (common for cooking shows, it seems).

Certainly, it's not just limited to companies. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute has a pretty nice message; if it was for-profit, you might think is was an ad. I've seen non-profit foundations with some pretty snazzy ones.

 

[amtrak_russ]

I used to watch thomas all of the time when i was little. But i have seen the new show and i and it saddens me how how kiddy these show have gotten. I remeber thomas to be all about the storys without the sing alongs and the pleasing voice of Ringo Starr reading the story to you. What has happened? Well maybe I am just older now and still wish i had a bowl of mac and cheese and a thomas VHS playing. Ahh the good times. Also the merchandise has taken off for the thomas program. The other day i was waiting for the train and a kid came up to see a traini and he had those light up thomas sandals!!!! I was so jealous. I said to the father of the kid, He likes trains eh? he said yep and he is afraid this is one phase he wont grow out of. I told him that your looking at a kid who didn't. Anyways enough rambling and reminising. By the way i still watch thomas on VHS sometimes. I Guess I am a big kid in a adult world.