Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Sunday

Company Sells Electronic Billboard Ad Space on Top of NYC Cabs

Aired July 08, 2001 - 16:25   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: They say you can find anything in New York City. Everywhere you turn, someone is trying to sell something. And as we tune out the old messages, someone always finds a new way to get us to tune us back in, as CNN's Jason Carroll reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One stop at Times Square, and it's easy to see why New York City is the advertising capital of the world. Here, you will find ads just about everywhere you look: on the back of bikes, the sides of buildings, on water tanks and luggage carousels.

Now comes a new way of looking at an old image: the yellow cab.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's cool. I think it's -- you know, it's 2001.

CARROLL: There are electronic billboards on the move, futuristic devices are rooftop riders, so they go wherever the cab goes.

(on camera): Would it catch your eye?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I had my glasses on, yeah it would.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I saw that it had the Yankees score up there, and that they won. I was very interested in that.

CARROLL (voice-over): Sports scores, sales, any ad you want. That's what the creator had in mind.

EYAL COHEN, INVENTOR: The reception in the market is great, from the taxi owner market, it's great from the advertisers, it's great from the city of New York, because we are doing something good for the people of New York.

CARROLL: How does the technology work? In simple terms, a company that buys space types its message into a computer. The computer sends it to a satellite, which then beams the message to receives on top of cabs.

(on camera): Literally seconds after your ad is inputted into a computer, it will show up on one of these electronic taxi tops, and it will show up in whatever neighborhood you choose. (voice-over): ESPN liked the idea so much, it was one of the first companies to sign on.

MARY SHEEHAN, ASSOCIATE MEDIA DIRECTOR, WIEDEN-KENNEDY: For ESPN, it has the opportunity to bring sports to the street.

CARROLL: But for some New Yorkers, the new billboards could present a problem.

ROBERT SEARS, "STAYFREE" MAGAZINE: They are intended to distract drivers and pedestrians, and I think that's a public health concern.

CARROLL: The Taxi and Limousine Commission didn't agree. It gave the go-ahead to have thousands of cabs fitted with the new signs. The billboard company says the next stops will be Las Vegas, Boston and Washington.

Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com