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In the travel section of tjis morning's Washington Post there was full 1/2 page ad for Amtrak. It is an empty railroad track disappearing into the distance with the caption "Take The Road Less Frazzled". At the bottom are sample fares from DC to various places along the NE.After talking about the frustrations of driving it ends with "With over 45 stops in the Northeastern towns big and small we will drive you anywhere but crazy", They must have new Pr people as I have never seen anything even vaguely similar. Has anyone else noticed it in their paper?
Henry Kisor Member # 4776
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I haven't seen the ad, but it sounds wonderful! It reminds me of one of the old anti-airline railroad ads E.M. Frimbo dreamed up in the 1940s for a New Yorker piece: "Go Through the Mountains, Not Into Them."
"The Road Less Frazzled." That's genius. Wonder which ad shop came up with that.
train lady Member # 3920
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I don't know who thought of it but it surely is a huge improvement over past ads which in my opinion were really blah. I always looked at them and thought "big deal!" This one has a sort of wooded area on either side of the tracks. I tried to find it in the travel section on line but no luck. If you are interested I would think your library might have a copy. It is todays' Post..and on the back page which it shares with the rest of an article startd elsewhere. A clever placement because any one reading the original article would automatically see the ad.
mgt Member # 5479
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There was also another brief but positive article on Amtrak in the British Sunday press yesterday, the Independent on Sunday. Again not particularly accurate but a move nevertheless in the right direction. In the early sixties in Britain at the end of the Exeter by-pass, a notorious summer weekend holdup, there was a huge British Railways billboard saying Its Q!uicker by Train
notelvis Member # 3071
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During the late 1970's......1978 I believe.....an Amtrak National Timetable came out. On the cover was a medicine bottle turned over and an Amtrak train emerging from the top of the bottle -
The caption read something to the effect of 'For relief of Gas Pains, take Amtrak'.
That remains the most clever Amtrak tag line I can ever remember. Maybe they can get some extra mileage out of that one 30 years later.
Henry Kisor Member # 4776
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Perhaps the ad is part of a new marketing move that was announced this morning:
AMTRAK RE-LAUNCHES REGIONAL SERVICE AS NORTHEAST REGIONAL Re-branding features improved café service, new logo
WASHINGTON – Amtrak today announced the re-launch of its Northeast Corridor Regional service, renaming it Northeast Regional. Traveling between Boston, New York, Washington, Richmond and Newport News, Va., the service, Amtrak’s busiest, transported more than 6.8 million passengers last fiscal year.
Anticipating a busy summer travel season and the impact of an integrated marketing campaign, Amtrak expects the re-branding of the Northeast Regional and its associated service improvements to attract an additional 136,000 passengers to the service, valued at $8.9 million in ticket revenue annually. So far this fiscal year (October 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008), Amtrak’s Regional service has seen ridership grow to 5.6 million passengers, an increase of 11 percent over the same period last year.
The new Northeast Regional service will feature a number of enhancements for passengers. Top among those are 36 refurbished, all-table Café cars with new seat cushions and interior decor. The upgraded Café cars will be positioned in the middle of each train to improve access for coach passengers who account for more than 90 percent of riders. Northeast Regional Cafés will also offer a new menu, featuring fresh sandwiches and salads, and introducing a number of popular Northeast brands. Additional service improvements include refurbished Business class seats and interiors, as well as increased en-route cleaning to help keep the trains clean and fresh.
“The goal of the Northeast Regional service is to increase the ease of travel on the Northeast Corridor and to provide our passengers with a more comfortable and enjoyable travel experience,” said Emmett Fremaux, Amtrak’s Vice President, Marketing & Product Management. “As our ridership continues to grow, improving customer service to passengers on our most popular trains is a top priority.”
To support the re-branding of the Northeast Regional, Amtrak has launched an advertising campaign in states along the Northeast Corridor from Virginia to Massachusetts. The goal of the campaign, scheduled to run July 13th through September 7th, is to inspire customers who may not be regular Northeast Corridor passengers to try the new Northeast Regional service themselves.
The integrated media plan for the new Northeast Regional re-launch includes newspapers and business journals, radio ads, outdoor gas station and bus placements, and online display ads and search. Messaging focuses on the key elements that draw customers to the convenience and comfort of rail travel – mostly notably, freedom from traffic congestion, city to city-center trip time, and more recently, higher gas prices.
Coach fares on Amtrak’s Northeast Regional service start as low as $62 for travel between Boston and New York, $72 between New York and Washington, and $29 between Washington and Richmond. Additional charges to upgrade to Business class range from $12 to $45 depending upon travel time and city pairs.
About Amtrak Amtrak provides intercity passenger rail services to more than 500 destinations in 46 states on a 22,000-mile route system. For schedules, fares and information, passengers may call 800-USA-RAIL or visit www.amtrak.com. # # #
train lady Member # 3920
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Henry you are right. That fits the ad to a t
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