Walls Have Eyes At CTA
Travelers react to an unusual advertisement for Lays potato chips Monday on the ceiling of the pedestrian walkway between the Red and Blue line CTA Jackson stations. (Terrence Antonio James / Tribune)
WALLS HAVE EYES AT CTA
Potatoes hit the ceiling between Red, Blue lines at Jackson
You might think you've seen mold growing on the walls of CTA subways. Or stalactites. Or unidentifiable cankers. But potatoes?
There is indeed a pile of potatoes sprouting through the ceiling in the pedestrian tunnel connecting the Red and Blue lines at Jackson.
You say "tater." I say "tuber." Any way you slice it, the fake spuds are planted in polystyrene soil on the roof of the underground walkway in a bid to sell more Lay's potato chips.
What more might a hungry commuter ask for, except some tangy chip dip and a train that isn't crammed with passengers like 10 pounds of potatoes stuffed into a 5-pound sack?
Lays teamed up with Titan Worldwide, the CTA's advertising contractor, and Atomic Props & Effects to create the hanging-potato collage. The ad, which will run through Sunday, was created to promote Lay's "Closer than you think" campaign to show consumers that Lay's potatoes are grown on American farms, including by local farmers.
To prove its point, Lays set up a "Chip Tracker" on its Web site, www.fritolay.com
Customers can click on the Chip Tracker and enter the first three digits shown under the expiration date on each bag of chips to see how close to home the potatoes were born and bagged.
What a wonderful excuse for a reporter to eat expense-account potato chips all afternoon.