The London Tube Trades Ads for Cats

In a cosmopolitan city such as London, one can travel anywhere in the central area or the periphery of the capital of England by Tube. Travelers are, however, often annoyed by the amount of advertising displayed everywhere. A couple of animal protection organizations took action and started providing ads for cats instead!

You may not know it but advertising a business or a product in public spaces such as the London Underground costs an arm and a leg. Therefore, to carry out this initiative, the organization in question, Glimpse, understood that ideas are free but that they had to raise the necessary funds in order to make it happen. It was the only way they could afford the prices of the marketing firm that provides the ads at Clapham station.

And so, they created a crowdfunding campaign, which raised the equivalent of $36,000 in a very short period of time. This was just the amount they needed to fill the Tube station with pictures of cats for two weeks.

A very special campaign

It’s strange that they chose just to put photos of cats. The pictures don’t advertise anything related to them such as cat food, animal services, stores, or veterinarians. They show cats, that’s it. But, what’s the point of that? You might wonder. (We wondered too.)

According to Glimpse, the daily stress of having to travel to and fro from work is too much for many people. If you add to that spending too many hours in the office, and worrying about family and household needs, then it can bring many people to breaking point.

In addition, if you walk through streets and areas full of advertising that encourage you to buy things you can’t afford then it adds more pressure to your life and things begin to go down the tube, if you’ll pardon the pun.

So, in our stressful routines, it’s imperative to try to do something relaxing. Even if only for a short time. Following this logic, the organization wanted to create something that would remind everyone who passed through the station how beautiful it is to live in peace and without loud visual and psychological stimulation.

Finding happiness through ads for cats

The founder of Glimpse says that his goal is to fill advertising spaces with things that make people happy. He thinks they’re better than ads that make people feel bad about themselves and only add pressure.

He thinks that this initiative induces people to meditate on the beauty of life and nature. It stops them from thinking that they have to buy products that’ll make them sexier and, therefore, more lovable.

It seems simple, but if he’s able to move this project forward, many think that the number of depressions and suicides brought about by stress could decrease.

Meanwhile, people have openly welcomed this idea. They’re sharing hundreds of photos of their cats each day with the hope of seeing them posted in one station or another someday.

Who knows? Perhaps many more people will join forces in order to collect signatures and more money to be able to buy the advertising space and display cat photos forever.

The power of animals in our minds

It may seem crazy to many but this idea of lifting someone’s spirit through animals is scientifically proven. Not only can they help us think about the beauty of life but they also directly influence our mood.

Regardless of whether you are young or old, animals can help you in many ways, such as:

• Making you feel useful. An animal is totally dependent on you, and this, most likely, makes you feel important. Because of that, your self-esteem improves.
• Making you feel loved. It doesn’t matter if you scolded your cat a few minutes ago. They’ll always want your love and your attention, and will make you feel loved every minute.
• Reducing your stress. It’s scientifically proven that animals help to reduce your stress. They bring peace and tranquility to those nearby.
• Helping babies. Yes, pets strengthen against disease more than we think. Bringing home what they catch in the street serves as an inoculation to the immune system and there’s less risk of catching diseases as a consequence.

Finally, we hope that the ads for cats initiative on the London Tube sets a precedent for many other places in the world.