\u201cThat\u2019s my work seen the most,\u201d Ong said recently of her illustrations for \u201cDon\u2019t be Someone\u2019s Subway Story,\u201d possibly one of the highest profile campaigns in New York City history. \u201cA lot of people were happy this campaign was up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ong\u2019s work is part of an award-winning \u201cCourtesy Counts\u201d campaign by the MTA using art to convey a serious message.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
MTA Chief Customer Officer Shanifah Rieara said there are about 6 million daily users across the system. The campaign is on 10,000 screens in subway cars and stations, as well as buses, the LIRR and Metro North.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe launched the campaign back in October of 2023,\u201d said Gene Ribeiro, Deputy Chief Customer Officer, who leads Marketing and Creative Services. \u201cClearly, the content we are communicating remains at the forefront of customers\u2019 minds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rather than simply posting signs advising straphangers to be courteous, the MTA decided to get its message across with humor and art.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe took a bit of a tongue-in-cheek approach to speak to serious issues that customers see on a daily basis,\u201d Ribeiro said. \u201cWe were looking to communicate in less of a heavy-handed way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rieara said that the illustration creates a fun feel to convey an important message. \u201cIt\u2019s a cartoon, bright and different from what the MTA historically has put out,\u201d she said. \u201cIt has drawn eyes and attention to the campaign.<\/p>\n
The \u201cCourtesy Counts\u201d campaign, among the most looked at (if sometimes overlooked) art, won the 2024 APTA AdWheel Award for Best Marketing and Communications Education Initiative \u2013 Comprehensive Campaign. It won first place for illustration in the 2024 PRINT awards.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although the New York City subway system is about transporting people, it is also a venue where artwork reaches millions.\u00a0\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
In addition to mosaics, sculpture and other artifacts, it\u2019s the home to illustrations designed to convey various messages.\n<\/p>\n
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has designers, 3D animators and video editors on staff with Ong as a full-time illustrator.\n<\/p>\n
Ong draws everything from the \u201cDon\u2019t Be Someone\u2019s Subway Story\u201d courtesy campaign to other illustrations for the MTA.\n<\/p>\n
Ricky Sethiady led direction, with copywriting by Chris Sartinsky, design and motion by John Wong, and illustration by Ong, AKA Zovi. \u201cWe call them a courtesy campaign,\u201d Ong said. \u201cThey\u2019re not rules. It\u2019s baseline respect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Campaign images have sought to encourage people not to hold doors open, not put bags on seats and otherwise respect space. \u201cWhen it first came up, people looked at them and commented, pointed at them,\u201d Ong said. \u201cNow people are so used to them. They just see them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ribeiro said the MTA started over five years ago with a well-received courtesy campaign using \u201cbubble people.\u201d \u201cWe wanted to take that version and expand on it and make it a conversation piece,\u201d he said. \u201cHow did we select the respective scenarios? A combination of customer feedback and our own daily interactions. We all take the subway and bus system.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_3855-rotated.jpg\" "\\"Moving")
<\/a>The MTA\u2019s Courtesy Counts campaign features situations in which you can be a more thoughtful rider on the subway.Photo by Claude Solnik<\/p>\n