I don't expect WMATA to know anything about selling itself or being creative and I'm fine with that. However, you're right that the ad is incredibly lame on every front. WMATA should just stick with focusing on things they do reasonably well such as getting people from point A to B.
Here are what creative reliability campaigns look like (and they're non-offensive, to boot!):
One commercial in the "Portfolio" ad effort, which has been running since September, features a man named Kenny, who drives a Toyota Rav4, coming home to find his house falling apart, from the doorknob that comes off to the leak that springs up in his front yard. Kenny is greeted by construction workers who are scrambling to fix it. "Toyota has won more Total Quality Awards than any other automaker and we can all use little more quality these days," says the voiceover.
Colorful TV spots shows a utopian landscape made entirely of people; the sun, clouds and ocean are depicted by humans moving in unison. It carries the ad slogan "Harmony between man, nature and machine." Prius ads will begin appearing on TV on Thursday.
The below ad campaign did a particularly good job of reaching out to millenials:
Ad campaign to promote Honda's new vehicle the Brio, using illustrated typography to highlight the reliability of the car in contrast with the often unpredictable tastes of the young target buyer.
http://www.behance.net/gallery/Honda-Brio-Ad-Campaign/7259785
