Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
MTA Explains the Subway Window Ads
By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 16, 2008
Modified Dec 16, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 16, 2008
Modified Dec 16, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
This month there was a strong reaction against the new Coke ads running on the subway windows. The MTA has now spoken up and the organization's Jeremy Soffin tells us that it's merely "a month-long pilot designed to test the effectiveness of this material in discouraging scratchiti. We are evaluating both whether to test this further to fight scratchiti and whether it is a potential source of advertising revenue, although the focus is on the scratchiti at this point."
Perhaps with 3-figure MetroCards in the future, the focus should be on ad revenue? Not so fast, straphanger; Paul Fleuranges of the MTA tells us that "scratched and etched glass is a major vandalism problem, costing us in excess of $2.5 million a year to deal with alone." So eliminating the damage could save us all some dough in the end...it's not like stopping scratchiti artists is free all the time.
Addressing a major safety concern, Soffin added that "You can see through the windows, as verified by the NYPD in approving the pilot" (the NYPD has yet to comment on the matter). The material the ad is printed on is called Scotchcal, a 3M product; essentially it's a perforated window graphic film that allows one to see from the inside-out, but not the outside-in (so basically not at all helpful when you are being attacked in a subway car and no one can see you from the outside). The pilot cost the MTA nothing, "as Coke basically under wrote through its ad buy and CBS Outdoors contributed the labor costs to apply," according to Fleuranges.
For now, there's no word on if the initiative will continue past the pilot—it depends on "how the material holds up, public reaction and whether it has viability should it work as a revenue generator." One bonus they noted was the energy efficient tinted window effect, preventing sun soak from making the cars that run outdoors too hot and overworking the HVAC systems during the summer months.
Tagged
ads
coke
MTA
nypd
subway
window ads
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Gatorade recall affects drinks sold in New York and New Jersey
More than 122,000 cases are being recalled over undeclared food dyes.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 5, 2026 at 4:36 p.m. ET
Gov. Hochul declares upstate NY measles outbreak a ‘disaster emergency’
The declaration is driven by rising case counts in rural areas and in neighboring Pennsylvania.
By
Caroline Lewis
News
Gov. Hochul declares upstate NY measles outbreak a ‘disaster emergency’
The declaration is driven by rising case counts in rural areas and in neighboring Pennsylvania.
By
Caroline Lewis
NYPD detective forced to retire after false statements in Brooklyn investigation
By
Charles Lane
Mamdani faces pressure to forge ahead with plan to fix polluting South Bronx market
By
Elizabeth Kim
Dominican man who shot border patrol officer in NYC sentenced to 15 years in prison
By
Samantha Max
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .