BC Transit-Text and Ride

Nuria M

VISA 1500_01

September 23, 2020

This is an advertisement by the BC transit system, and it can be found on busses or at bus stops served by the BC transit. This particular picture was taken from inside a BC transit bus. It encourages people to ride the bus because they can text and go on their phone as someone else drives them around. It also aims to reduce road accidents that are as a result of distracted driving. The advertisement has a picture of a lady who is looking at her phone while riding the bus. It also has the words ‘Text and Ride’ overlapping parts of the image. In the bottom right corner, it has the words ‘let us do the driving’ printed in a smaller font.

From the way the advertisement has been presented to us, the wording ‘Text and Ride’ seems to be the most important part of the ad because it is in huge bold letters, and it is right at the centre of the ‘board’. The picture of the lady is used as a background, most likely to show us how happy we will be if we ride the bus. The picture is on the left of the wording, and shows a woman whose body is facing away from the camera, giving the picture an almost candid like feel. She is sitting probably at the back of the bus, because there is no other seat behind her, and is holding her phone to her face and smiling. She also seems to be next to the window, which would explain why the left side of her face seems to be slightly brighter than the right. There is a bit of space all around her, and the picture cuts her off right between her shoulder and her elbow. As we move to the right, the picture of the woman fades into a black background, and at this point, the words ‘Text’ and ‘and’ overlap the image, right before the background turns black. There is a logo of the BC Transit in the bottom right corner of the sign and below that, a text that says, “let us do the driving”. The colours in the ad complement each other. The white text and the black and grey background give this ad a ‘clean’ and aesthetic feel.

The image is effective in conveying the message because the lady in the photograph appears to be calm and happy on her phone. She is not worried that she might cause an accident because she is not the one driving. The picture is also very clear and well lit, and her facial expressions are easy to read. The wordings on the ad are big and bold, making it easy to read. The ad convinces us that taking a bus is safer and more convenient because we are able to do things that we would not do while driving, e.g. Texting, going on social media, or even playing games on our phone.