Riders on the CTA's Red Line are one step closer to seeing ads that feature random pictures of goats and facts about squirrels.
The Chicago Transit Project-the brainchild of Chicago comedian and freelancer Ben Larrison-received full funding on Kickstarter on Friday, and closed at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The project aims to place about 100 quirky advertisements on Red Line trains, with concepts such as facts about squirrels and random pictures of goats.
"I just like making people smile, I like making people happy," said Larrison, 27, of Lakeview. "I know how tough it can be to take the train everyday. It's nice to have little things that can make you smile once in a while."
The intent is also to insert some humor in what Larrison says is a commuter's daily routine of being bombarded by branded advertising.
"We can't stop this advertising onslaught, but we can take back just a tiny little bit of what we see-and make it super ridiculous and dumb," Larrison wrote in the Kickstarter's description.
The campaign was a second try for Larrison. The first funding campaign fell short of its $4,100 goal, but with encouragement from friends and folks who supported the original project, he decided to give it a second shot.
Setting the funding period at just two weeks, he said he thinks he created the sense of "urgency" for people to donate. Along with being included in Kickstarter's newsletter as a featured project, he met his new goal of $3,999 around 1 p.m. Friday.
"It happened really quickly," he said. "I was extremely excited and kind of overwhelmed. It was such of blur of how quickly it took off."
To lure potential donors, Larrison offered equally quirky perks. A $40 donation, for example, gets a backer a print of a hand-drawn picture of a squirrel riding the CTA (17 people jumped for that. For $15, he promised to put a nice note about the backer in a random RedEye box (nine people donated at that level).
Larrison even saw one donor snag the highest level of donation-$1,000-which promises to put the donor's name on the actual advertisements.
Being a little off-the-wall is nothing new for Larrison. This June, he crowdfunded a campaign to have a slam dunk contest with the WNBA's Sheryl Swoopes. He also founded Northwestern's Happiness Club, which built pop-up sandboxes on the university's campus and brought in dogs for those studying for finals week. He was a cast member for ComedySportz's "Improvised Double Dare."
Larrison's next step will be reaching out to more than 90 donors, asking them to vote on their favorite idea for the campaign. He said he will also take suggestions from the donors about what they want to see. Currently he is building a website for the ads that will feature the name of every donor. He hopes to have the ads done, approved and placed in two to four months.
As of now, none of the designs or ideas are locked down, but Larrison said he has already reached out to the CTA's advertising agency, Titan, to get quotes and information.
He also said he is aware of the CTA's policy on advertising, and said he is confident none of the ads will violate any rules.
Reached for comment, a CTA spokeswoman said the agency could not comment on ads they have not seen, but said they will be reviewed just like any other ad that is proposed for trains. Ultimately, the CTA has final approval.
In general, the CTA does have guidelines for advertising. They include prohibiting ads that are political in nature, or ads that are legally obscene, sexually explicit, depict nudity or portray graphic violence. They also cannot be disparaging or discriminatory, or incite lawless or illegal action.
Larrison said he's read the guidelines "up and down," and said he doesn't think an ad featuring squirrel facts will be an issue.
"All of these things are basically just creating an atmosphere or moment of joy," he said. "I can't see it being an issue."
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