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Everyone's So Damn Happy In This 1960s NYC Subway Commercial
By
Jen Carlson
Published May 2, 2016
Modified May 2, 2016
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By
Jen Carlson
Published May 2, 2016
Modified May 2, 2016
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What if everyone on the subway made eye contact and looked genuinely happy? That was the world they created in this ad promoting the subway service for the 1964-1965 World's Fair in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. Everyone's so goddamn happy! Look at this maniac—that is some intense #smilespreading.
The cars used for this service were eventually called Redbirds, but they were originally painted turquoise (and called Bluebirds), a color that we would point out invokes more joy (cc: MTA).
The below commercial announces 430 new cars for this service, picking you up from Times Square or Grand Central, and delivering you to the Fair in just 20 minutes. Most of these cars have since been dumped into the ocean, but this advertisement and this man's haunting cackle will live on forever:
[h/t L.A.'s Metro Library]
Tagged
flashback
original
subway
1960s
bluebirds
smilespreading
world's fair
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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