Commuting to and from work every day can be a drag. Travelers tune out the monotonous process of traveling by subway with headphones, and the entire trip goes by unnoticed. What if commuting didn’t have to be so boring?
In the London Clapham Common tube station, traveling just got a whole lot cuter. The Citizens Advertising Takeover Service, also known as CATS, has taken action to combat the drab atmosphere of the tube station.
CATS is owned and operated by Glimpse, a creative agency geared towards activating positive social change. launched a social experiment that’s positively affecting travelers’ moods. In an effort to appeal to the most broad audience possible, they replaced all of the redundant ads on the subway walls with something that would make cat fanatics everywhere go wild: adorable cat photos.
This movement wasn’t easy to mobilize, as the agency had to raise a total of $30,000 in order to buy out the advertisements that were already present in the station. According to Glimpse founder James Turner, the investment was well worth it. “Lots of people are trying not to smile, trying to play it cool. But then they turn the corner and see another cat, and they can’t help it,” Turner said. “It’s just a really wonderful energy, people are talking to each other about it, taking pictures and picking their favorites. You don’t see that enough in public spaces and I’m proud to have played a part in creating it.”
Turner explains that the public goals of the campaign are to boost the moods and evoke conversation among the audience. The central professional goal is to inspire other ad agencies to recognize the power they have to influence the world in a positive way, and to use that power for good. Imagine how amazing it would be if initiatives such as this one were manifested all over the world? The world would be a much happier (and cuter) place.
