Re: melbourne transit in Maryland

[pcc@ocean.com.au (Les Brown)]

paulg@alphalink.com.au (Paul Gilchrist) wrote in aus.rail:

>In a TV commercial for Bell Atlantic Mobile, here 
>on the East Coast of the US, amidst a plethora of 
>other urban scenes we see a Z1 tram and a Hitachi 
>motor car, numbered M211 if my slomo is 
>sufficiently clear. Does this seem like a valid numbering?
>
>The ad was probably filmed in Melbourne, where it 
>is cheaper than the US, tho clearly the impression 
>to be given is that it is stateside, i.e. the only 
>car we clearly see is a LH drive convertible. 
>
>The platform scene shows a sign labelled Track 5, 
>which seems a more American term than our "Platform". Is this how
>stations in Melbourne are signed? 

This is fairly common Paul. Quite a number of Japanese and American
ads are made here because it's cheap and the standard of production is
quite high. I know a Japanese gentleman, quite well established here,
who arranges and scripts ads for Japanese T.V. He also arranges some
technical production as well using some rather advanced digital
technology that is not available here yet. We are rather behind in
that respect.

It is most unlikely that that was not the first aussie ad you ever saw
there and it probably won't be the last.

Les Brown