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Sex and the Subway is not the newest hit show on HBO, but rather than the concept behind cleaning up this city, one [bloke] at a time. We’ve all seen how the Subway system can be commoditised and sold in brilliant fashion — from t-shirts, to mugs, to my Snapple project from a while back. And the City’s effort to get folks to cover up by using their favourite train line is working, apparently.

According to the New York Times, the City manages to dish out 5 million free condoms in just over a month…

“I think the key thing is this branding effort,” said Adam Karpati, the assistant city health commissioner in charge of H.I.V. and AIDS programs. “It’s our own brand, it’s a New York City-specific thing, and people really respond.”

Yup. Branding rocks. And the Subways are probably the most recognisable graphic icon on the streets of New York. Much more portable and easier to manage than the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty. Plus you can’t spell things with buildings. London has a similar brand equity in their Underground system. No news yet if the NHS will be dishing out condoms as part of their “Mind the Gap” campaign.

I should write for the Post.

Of course, the City is now taking on the much-tougher brief of convinving men to be circumcised. I’d like to meet the creative team who can pull that one off — I’m not even going to suggest any straplines, although a few did jump to mind.

// a tale of New York, brands & branding, design: packaging
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