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Nov 12, 2005 2:33 pm US/Eastern
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SEPTA Releases Employee Trading Cards
Baseball Card-Style Promotional Items Feature Workers And Their Thoughts
PHILADELPHIA (AP) ―
SEPTA has released a line of trading cards featuring employees and their thoughts.
The cards are part of a $600,000 SEPTA ad campaign, which includes television and bus ads.
The cards feature conductors talking about cheesesteaks, sports, and other Philadelphia staples. SEPTA says the cards come with the purchase of a token or a rail pass, and they include a discount at some Reading Terminal Market vendors.
The campaign started in mid-October but was put on hold during the week-long transit strike that ended earlier this week. It aims to promote SEPTA by using a "nique sample of the language, traditions and 'd-di-tude'(sic) that is 'Genuine Philly,'" according to a statement on SEPTA's Web site.
Some riders—still smarting from a week of thwarted commutes and snarled traffic—say the cash-strapped authority shouldn't be wasting money on the campaign.
The 50,000 trading cards came out this week. A new batch arrives in winter.
Besides being featured on the trading cards, SEPTA workers play major roles in other "Genuine Philly" advertisements.
"There's no debate, its called gravy, not pasta sauce," Market-Frankford Owl bus driver JoAnne Nuttle says in one ad.
"It's spelled Passyunk. It's pronounced Pashunk, don't ask me why," employee Toni Foster says in another.
The "stars" of the ads were selected through an internal open casting call held over two days, according to SEPTA.
(© 2005 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)