Amtrak promotes gay family travel with groundbreaking ads
J.C. Penney did it and now so has Amtrak. It has launched a promotional campaign that includes gay families.
As part of an effort to market its standard discounted family travel program, for the first time, the national passenger rail company included gay families in its materials. In an online ad sent by Instinct magazine to its email subscribers, a photo of same-sex parents with their child is featured.
Two version of the ad, one with a picture of a male couple and another with a female couple, were distributed. Both versions include the headline: Priceless Family Moments Are Now Affordable. The ad goes on to promote Amtrak’s 50% off campaign for children age 2 to 15 who are traveling with an adult, and directs readers to its gay travel website www.AmtrakRideWithPride.com.
Amtrak, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is a member of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association. In began its initial Ride with Pride campaign in 2010.
In other Amtrak news, the company announced yesterday that it’s launching an eTicket program for all trains within its national network including on the Northeast Corridor, state-supported routes and long-distance services. The eTickets provide passengers with the convenience to skip the line at the ticket window and go straight to the gate by printing their tickets whenever, wherever or by using a smartphone to present the eTicket to the conductor.
When a customer makes a reservation, the eTicket will be e-mailed as a printable document. Passengers using their smartphone or other mobile device can present the eTicket to the conductor by simply opening the document from their e-mail. A lost or misplaced eTicket can easily be reprinted. eTickets also can be printed at Amtrak ticket offices and Quik-Trak kiosks. Some customers, including those traveling on a group ticket or passengers purchasing Multi-Ride tickets, will continue to receive a conventional paper value ticket.
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