What do you get when you combine a redneck and a rapper?
Apparently, a public service announcement.
Comedian Jeff Foxworthy and hip-hop artist Ludacris (real name: Christopher Bridges) are among several public figures in talks to appear in a commercial for MARTA promoting its new code of conduct. The spots will air on local cable, on MARTA’s YouTube channel and on flat-screen televisions mounted inside each train car.
MARTA marketing director Jennifer Jinadu-Wright says she’s trying to line up local celebrities like Foxworthy, Ludacris and others she won’t yet identify because they are respected in the community and can appeal to a diverse audience. The aim is to promote the “Ride with Respect” policy, which will be implemented Nov. 9.
The new code of conduct will reprimand unruly behavior or infractions like spitting, panhandling, playing loud music, smoking, eating or drinking. Anyone cited for those offenses can be suspended from the system for anywhere from a few days to a year. The goal of the sanctions is to change the perception about MARTA and improve customer service.
“All the different personalities we’re reaching out to are just doing this out of their civic-mindedness, seeing this as a way we can improve the whole city,” Jinadu-Wright said. “We’re talking about riding with respect on MARTA, but it’s really talking about the community as a whole being respectful of one another.”
A publicist for Foxworthy said the jokester was out of town Tuesday, but confirmed MARTA had asked him about doing the PSA and said he was trying to see if it could fit into his schedule.
Ludacris, who is filming “Fast & Furious 7” at locations in the metro Atlanta area this week, could not be reached for comment.
The idea of using local celebrities in public service advertisements is offbeat but not unprecedented for MARTA. In 2003, actor Danny Glover performed the voice-overs for a series of television commercials for MARTA’s “Pulling Together” campaign, promoting the system as a safe and affordable means of transportation.
Cost estimates to film and distribute the latest round of ads are still being finalized. The actors will be unpaid, Jinadu-Wright said.
MARTA spent about $800,000 on the 2003 ad campaign.
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