Can one song dually inspire a bike advocacy video in London and a car commercial in the United States? That’s exactly the case with the song “Straight Lines” by Louisville native and Brooklyn-based artist Dawn Landes. I just finished listening to a repeat broadcast of WNYC’s Soundstage program where Dawn played live with Ray Rizzo and Josh Kaufman where they mentioned these videos, so I had to check them out.
I would say the Transport for London video is the winner hands down for creativity, but I suppose I’m a little partial to bikes as opposed to minivans. Thoughts?
Dawn Landes will be playing at Forecastle in Louisville on July 11.
Founder and Editor at Broken Sidewalk
Branden founded Broken Sidewalk in 2008 while practicing architecture in Louisville. He continued the site for seven years while living in New York City, returning to Louisville in 2016. Branden is a graduate of the College of Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis, and has covered architecture, design, and urbanism for The Architect's Newspaper, Designers & Books, Inhabitat, and the American Institute of Architects.
Latest posts by Branden Klayko (see all)
Okay, so as a car-free cyclist I couldn't be considered an objective judge. But yes, the Town & Country ad is generic car commercial. And the song, while nice, is not any different in sound and feel from just about every other family car commercial. (Either that or I've unwittingly seen this commercial a million times.)
But the London transpo one is more original. I really like the bike lane symbol peeling up & riding around. I like how it feels like a car commercial, thereby connecting bikes with transportation rather than recreation. They also chose a different verse from the car T&C commercial, with a line about never going back. Would love to see an ad like this in the US. First we'd need some more bike lanes, though, wouldn't we? C'mon, LaHood! What's taking so long? 😉
On a side note, I don't think I've ever seen an all-white bicycle here other than a ghost bike. Are they more common in London? Or was that just a visual trick to tie in with the bike symbols?