Folks are asking “Why post this here?” I get the question but I think I also get the OP, as a New Yorker who was surprised to see this ad IRL.
Most of our subway ads are for VC-funded Internet darlings (think: mattresses-by-mail, kitschy underwear, online therapy) or for some aspiring blockbuster movie from an Internet giant.
Until I saw this ad, I had never in my life seen a subway ad for a company I actually used, let alone respected.
Seeing this ad in the wild broke my brain. I have advocated for online privacy for over a decade. I have spent so much energy pushing people to use Signal. But I had never before imagined that “online privacy” was a concept that could find an audience in mass marketing.
I don’t know if Mullvad will take off. But I know that seeing these ads moved me. I felt like maybe, MAYBE, our movement is breaking through.
I saw this on the LA lines as well and it made me very uneasy and concerned. I went down this road with NordVPN back in the day. There ads popping up everywhere was the beginning of a massive decline in services and questionable privacy practices. Also Ubuntu and many other open source companies… I’m love Mullvad, and hope very much this isn’t the beginning of the end of one of the few trustworthy VPN’s!
Mullvad is a good VPN. You might be asking why on a train it’s because why not
Because it’s an underground metro
Fits the mole theme
These particular lines are mostly above ground, light rail trains. They are only underground around DTLA
That makes sense
Can me and my spouse use the same account? Our Surfshark plan is expiring soon
Each account has an allowance of five devices, although you can de-register and re-register devices as much you want, it only takes clicking. So yes.
Mr Resetti?
This looks like something you’d see on /r/schizophreniarides
Side note but has that or InfowarriorRides migrated to lemmy yet?
I was thinking “don’t dead open inside” but that’s probably more accurate
I think that’s graffiti.
One of the things I liked about Mullvad was that they didn’t advertise. Has this changed recently or did they always do outdoor ads?
I’ve seen their ads in Sweden before IIRC. They don’t seem to be very common though. Why don’t you like that they’re advertising?
When companies start to focus too much on growth usually they start to lose sight of their values and greed begins to take over. That said I just checked their ad policy and while they do physical ads, it’s still a pretty reasonable policy.
They still won’t be showing up on random YouTubers videos like Nord
Infinite growth on finite resources is such a bad idea on so many levels.
They’ve actually ran adverts at the border of sweden telling politicians and alike that were going there to vote on IIRC ChatControl to vote against it
Mullvad is probably the best example of using ads for something good
They have a fair amount of ads in nyc.
I checked their policy, the physical ads are new
It really turns my head upside down how is this possible, how does a VPN company has enough market / potential customers / money for this.
Because they charge 5€/month for it?
Their CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) is usually very high, just think about it. Aside from the subway ads that have ridiculous costs, they usually offer youtubers the equivalent of a year’s subscription for each conversion. They also have to factor in operational costs so they’ve to keep new customers around for 1,5-2 years to reach break-even, only after that they’ve profit. Their business is based on a CLV (Customer lifetime value) that greatly exceeds the average for a B2C digital service - in order to survive they’re either doing shady stuff with your data OR living of VC hype money.
Mullvad only do limited advertising and afaik don’t sponsor youtubers
You call a subway ad “limited”? Are you aware of the prices on those?
I don’t mean limited by price, I mean limited as in they don’t just shove ads everywhere like nordvpn or whatever.
Compared to how every single video ever is sponsored by nordvpn
And a whole network subway ad will cost you at least 50k upfront :P
$50k isn’t that much for a company. Mullvad is pretty popular, so I’m guessing they could afford it.
I’ve even seen Duckduckgo billboards and whatnot. If they can afford it, so can Mullvad.
Why show ads here ?
Because lots of people use Mullvad and think it’s neat that there’s a Mullvad train. This isn’t a sponsored post, people just like Mullvad.
Okay, fair enough. Thanks…
Mullvad ad on Lemmy instance.
Is this in Texas? Lol
not sure why you are being downvoted but nah it’s Los Angeles
But… we don’t believe in trains here in the US…
Wait, LA had a subway system??
~60 M ridership 109 miles network length
Dayyyuum! Must be nice to always have a seat on your commute.
Is there even an underground subway in Texas? Asking as someone who used to live there.
I don’t know why there would be. Texas is big, so overland trains would be much more cost effective.
Tunnels are expensive, and land is comparatively cheap (and we have lots of old rail lines we can reuse).
Subways are usually meant for within city limits to relieve congestion. Not for intercity, so it’s irrelevant if Texas is big.
Unless you mean that land with rails within city limits already exists. In that case grade level crossings are a major hindrance.
I mean cities in Texas are very spread out. Subways work well in dense areas, and many parts of Texas just aren’t that dense. Here’s an article about Austin, and it seems people are more interested now than ever. But I want to point to a mention about Dallas:
Basically, the only reason to go underground in the West is when the city can’t get right of way or has to avoid other infrastructure. Dallas’ DART system is the only urban rail system in the Southwest that can claim a subway station. A three and a half mile section of rail runs underneath the North Central Expressway, in order to avoid the right of way conflicts that would come with going through existing neighborhoods. With urban rail projects dating back two decades, Dallas is ahead of the curve in Texas. But Houston’s getting onboard too, according to one of the city’s recent surveys.
We have something similar in my area (also in the west), surface rail is just way cheaper and good enough. Our population is somewhat spread out, so we use streetcars/trams and adjust the lights and crossings accordingly.
The problem with grade level crossings, even if the lights are adjusted, is always rush hour traffic.
One good example of this is line 512, St Clair W of the TTC. It’s a street car on well separated tracks but with many intersections due to it crossing dense neighbourhoods in addition to dedicated left/U turn lanes for 2x1 lanes worth of cars. Despite being only 2x1 lanes, the road being on the E-W makes it a major thoroughfare. The congestion can get so bad that at certain intersections the street car can get stuck for ten minutes or more until the blockage clears.
I don’t know Toronto well, but it seems there’s a good set of expressways that go around the city, so thru roads could be cut to discourage cutting through the city itself. Replace those with walking and cycling paths and people will likely use the mass transit a lot more.
Basically, anywhere the Metro goes should have limited car traffic. That way a subway isn’t needed, walk ability is preserved, and noise downtown would be reduced, making for a much more pleasant downtown.
If cities prioritize cars, trains will be more expensive and slow, and walking will be more dangerous. If cities prioritize either trains or pedestrians, cars are inconvenienced, but trains are cheaper and nicer, and walking is safe. Unfortunately, we in NA picked cars…
I hate ads on the outside of windows. And they give the little pinholes, like that’s supposed to be enough. The world becomes a blur. Out the window is the least anxious place to look on public transport, but they put ads all over the windows, and give us this pinhole grid crap like it makes up for it.
Ever wanted to feel what it was like to be on the inside of a microwave? Well, now you can!
Ads in Windows are infuriating whether you’re talking about panes of glass or your laptop.
Agreed. There’s a slight relief here, though: I believe this is the Times Square shuttle train, which only runs back and forth over a few stations and never goes outside. So at least you’re not on this train for long and never missing a view
Yes, the wraps are a total bummer for sightseeing! They are very common in LA though, as not only a means of $$$'s in revenue, but as a cooling measure. The busses and above ground rail with these wraps are much cooler and easier to AC in the summer
Why not just replace the windows entirely?
Passenger vehicles legally need windows. Afaik, it’s a safety regulation
Looks like schizo ramblings. I love it
Normal ad for a normal thing.
“Uhh, so what kinda ad do you think would really reach your target market?”
“I’m thinking train car mural authored by the most mental illnessed man in town”
mental illnessed.
You tired buddy? “Most mentally ill” lol.
Mayhaps if you had more funnies in your mental, you wouldn’t feel so illnessed by the manipulatious nature of their wordiness.
Illest?
from authorit
every scroll
from ad net
browsing his
control and sh
fight for privacy.
MULLVAD VPN
