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Next stop, Apple: The Mac maker may re-brand Chicago subway station in $4 million ad deal

Apple is trying to cut an unusual advertising deal with Chicago authorities that might include corporate advertising and naming rights for a subway station adjacent to a future flagship Apple Store.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Apple has been in talks with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) since August regarding the ad deal. The agreement should give the Mac maker first dibs on ad slots inside the North and Clybourn subway stop, allegedly in exchange for $4 million in renovation costs.

As you can see from the three Graham Garfield photos pasted here for the sake of convenience, the run-down subway station desperately needs a thorough renovation. Deals like this are the CTA’s attempt to offset a projected budget deficit of $178 million in 2010. However, some people argue that corporate advertising slapped on landmark properties cheapens the city’s urban feel.

What makes this potential agreement interesting is the fact that the 1555 North Clybourn Avenue station is adjacent to a Clybourn Corridor shopping district site where Apple is building a new 15,000-square-foot retail spot. The store is scheduled to open next year and will become the second flagship Apple store in Chicago. The 1940s bricked subway station and the Apple store site sit on a triangular parcel bounded by Halsted Street and North and Clybourn avenues. The Chicago Sun-Times cited a CTA spokeswoman who confirmed that:

the transit authority is in talks with the computer and iPhone behemoth about a deal that could net the cash-strapped CTA as much as $4 million in funding from Apple to pay for an upgrade of the run-down subway station at North and Clybourn, which is adjacent to an Apple retail store now under construction and expected to open next year.

Although the CTA spokeswoman rebuffed speculations that the deal might include naming rights for the subway stop, Apple is aiming to dominate the station, the publication wrote. Michael Damore, executive managing director of a Chicago-based architectural firm Epstein that co-designed Chicago Apple store at 679 N. Michigan Ave, told Chicago Business (a free registration required) that $4 million is a lot of money, hinting that the deal might include naming and branding rights after all, if the CTA decides to sell them.

Apple thinks their products are designed and work the best, and they want the stores to reflect that attitude. They don’t care what they spend to achieve that goal.

Fuente: Geek.com