Transportation

Toronto's Long History of Promotional Transit Videos

The city’s official commission spared no expense on TV ads in the 1980s, but local artists have always done a better job.
Retrontario

Toronto artists have long provided their share of public transit-themed music videos. But in the 1980s, the city’s transit commission had its own golden age of self promotion—a decade of 30-second spots trying to sell Torontonians on leaving their cars at home.

Early on, some TTC spots offered a savings pitch: