I don't know what you look for in a bus. Personally, I look
for it being out of my way, but others (who regularly use buses) would, I
imagine, prefer ease of access, or low cost, or kindness to the environment,
those sorts of things.
Comfort, too, would probably be fairly high on the list of
priorities, so whoever put the slogan "Style & Comfort Redefined"
down the side of the bus I saw this morning at least got part of it right.
Here's the thing, though: since when has one of the key
attributes of a bus been how stylish it is? Let's set aside for a moment the
fact that this is clearly a falsehood in any case, and concentrate on the
reality that, for some reason, the coachworks have deemed it necessary to make
this bus 'stylish'.
How is this going to change the experience for the average
passenger? Are hundreds of people suddenly going to hop up a couple of levels
on the old 'fit-o-meter' because they've been seen on a stylish bus? Will it
ease their minds as they sit languishing in the quagmire of yet another Sheffield jam, knowing that they are lookin' smoooooth?
Will they arrive at their destination feeling any less cheated by the
ridiculous cost of public transport, or the fact that they've had to sit next
to an old git who smells of wee?
I don't profess to understand for one second the world of
marketing, so perhaps this is some clever trick I've missed. Or perhaps there
really was a survey where it turned out that one of the most common complaints
was "well, it could look a bit more stylish, couldn't it?". Perhaps
"Style & Comfort Redefined" is exactly what people are after.
But then again, perhaps not.
No comments:
Post a Comment