As London Underground prepares a pounds 1.2 billion ’communications
revolution’, the sales teams at TDI are gearing up to sell moving images
on tube station walls.
Derek Smith, managing director of London Underground last week revealed
that the company is ’considering running moving ads’. Poster contractor
TDI has confirmed that it expects there will be a live trial of
projected ads next March or April, leading to a wider roll-out later in
the year.
The ads are projected across the tracks onto the far wall of the
station. When a train pulls in the projections stop and when it pulls
out the ads start again from the beginning. The system has already been
tested by TDI - in front of a number of potential clients - on a disused
platform at Holborn.
TDI is now discussing the live trial with would-be advertisers. ’Lots of
people have expressed an interest,’ said sales director Clive Punter.
’They seem very impressed with the trials.’
The trial advertisers will not be charged for the space, but have been
asked to channel their adspend into producing creative that is well
suited to a silent moving picture.
Some of the ads may be silent versions of TV ads, but Punter promised
that the cross-track projections would be an impressive new medium.
’Generally speaking this will be posters-plus, not TV-minus,’ he added.
