Implications for visually stimulating advertisements on NYC subway platforms

Abstract

Despite the fact that the New York City (NYC) Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) no longer advertises tobacco products, there is no ban on ads for alcohol. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the frequency of alcohol-related advertising content on the platforms of two populated subway lines in NYC. Advertisements were evaluated on one subway line (the green line) that runs through Bronx and Manhattan in NYC. In the stations included in the study, the total number of advertisements were tallied and classified according to the type of advertisement. When an advertisement for alcohol was identified, it was determined whether the ad was for an alcoholic beverage, or it if was for a different product but exhibited an alcoholic beverage in some way. A total of 26 advertisements were identified which marketed an alcohol product. An additional 24 ads were noted for marketing another product or service whereby, alcohol was depicted as being consumed. There was a statistically significant difference in ads between the different lines t (20.04)=7.62, p<0.001, with an average of 1.5 ads on the uptown lines (heading toward and through the borough with the lowest median income) versus 0.06 ads on the downtown lines (heading toward and through the borough with the highest median income). Given the far reach that subway advertisements have, focus could shift to health promoting products, versus those that are deleterious.