"You Won't Need a Rest" advertisement, 1972.
Printed paper insertion proof of an advertisement created in 1972 to promote train travel on the Abraham Lincoln and Prairie State (St. Louis-Chicago-Milwaukee).
- Advertisement Details
-
- Date Archived:
- March 20, 2015
- Geography:
- Midwest
- Decade:
- 1970s
- Data Format:
- Image
- Route:
- Prairie State
- Date Created:
- 1972
- Download the full-sized version of this photo
This advertisement was one in a series created for Amtrak between 1971 and 1973 by the Ted Bates agency of New York City. According to the text at the bottom of the piece, it was intended for placement in Bloomington, Ill., newspapers. In a letter to Amtrak, the Ted Bates agency noted that advertising was placed in newspapers, radio, television and magazines, but the first two were preferred "because of their ability to present local information and immediate impact."
Showing a mother and daughter relaxing in comfortable seats, this ad promotes local travel between St. Louis, Chicago and Milwaukee on the Abraham Lincoln and Prairie State. "Discover how to take the trip without feeling the trip. Unwind on an Amtrak coach. In the kind of safe, tension-free comfort you don't find on a plane, a bus, or hunched behind the wheel...Unwind the Amtrak way. Take it easy. Take the train."
Towards the bottom is one of the company's early slogans: "We're making the trains worth traveling again." In its first years of operation, Amtrak strove to improve the customer experience by upgrading rolling stock and station facilities acquired from predecessor railroads, as well as instituting a comprehensive national reservations system.
From the Amtrak Corporate Collection.