Secure Beneath The Watchful Eyes

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Does anyone else find these adverts as frankly terrifying as I do?

A doubledecker bus crossing a bridge, surrounded by eyes in the sky, watching you. It's two milimeters away from Big Brother Is Watching You, innit?

Why yes, I am drunk. And I've been on no less than THREE busses that suddenly went "off service" for no apparent reason in the past four fours. Grrrrrr.

― kate, Sunday, 3 November 2002 01:06 (twenty-two years ago)

They're trying to revive the comforting, slightly surreal visual style of the old-fashioned London Transport poster (things like 'have a day out on a green line bus' c.1930 - or 1950 for that matter). It seems a bit odd to rehash this in the context of a crimestoppers/surveillance type thing.

― David (David), Sunday, 3 November 2002 01:21 (twenty-two years ago)

doesnt sound too comforting to me, eyes in the sky. more creepy than reassuring.
"We Are Watching You!! Yes, YOU ! Down There, With The Wrong Type Of ( insert something innocuous )"

― donna (donna), Sunday, 3 November 2002 02:52 (twenty-two years ago)

but i have turned into a paranoid maniac lately so dont listen to anything i say. ok?

― donna (donna), Sunday, 3 November 2002 02:53 (twenty-two years ago)

No, Donna, they really ARE creepy. It's this bus going over a bridge, with about six or seven giant EYES hanging in the oddly coloured sky above. It's almost as creepy as that intentionally creepy (but unintentionally moreso) Cranberries album cover.

― kate, Sunday, 3 November 2002 10:48 (twenty-two years ago)

Thankyou Kate for starting a thread on this extraordinary ad, which is kind of Orwell-meets-Bataille-meets-Good Housekeeping. The disembodied eyes are very creepy and Cthulhoid. Surely a scan of it exists somewhere on the WWW.

― Tom (Groke), Sunday, 3 November 2002 12:23 (twenty-two years ago)

You can see a version of it here.

― David (David), Sunday, 3 November 2002 12:39 (twenty-two years ago)

haha i like that the london transport symbol imposed on the pupil means the eyes look as if they're shut when they're meant to be watchful...

― mark s (mark s), Sunday, 3 November 2002 12:44 (twenty-two years ago)

AARRRGGGHHH!!!

It's animated and it WINKS! That's even more terrifying. I keep thinking "Nah, it's not that scary, it was only scary cause I was staring at it at 1am in Tottenham having been kicked off a night bus" but NOOOO!!! It's SCARY AS FUCK.

The green tint of the bus windows gives it an even more creepy Cthulu sort of vibe, like the interior of the bus glows with watchful phospheresence. The colours of the sky, the church spires and the creeping woods just add to the Lovecraftian vibe. This is supposed to make us feel safe just how?

Or is it supposed to be creepy on purpose to deter evil-doers who might be riding busses?

― kate, Sunday, 3 November 2002 13:04 (twenty-two years ago)

It's extraordinary! The style is so 1948 (when Orwell wrote 1984) too! It might as well say "Sorry we are 18 years late with 1984"! (haha also apt for something focussing on London transport)

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 3 November 2002 13:13 (twenty-two years ago)

you wait for ages for a totalitarian state then five come at once

― mark s (mark s), Sunday, 3 November 2002 13:16 (twenty-two years ago)

Help the Ministry of Information help you!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 3 November 2002 15:34 (twenty-two years ago)

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