In 2017, an MTA initiative called “Poetry in Motion” was in every subway car in New York City. At the time, I was tasked with launching a new insurance comparison site called Policygenius, with a simple premise: easily compare life insurance policies online.

To communicate this message, we created the worst subway poetry ever, with the message that while we’re no good at poetry, we are very good at comparing life insurance online.

People viscerally loved or hated it—debating our poetry on social media constantly while it ran. Brand awareness skyrocketed and we saw an average of 83% growth in cities the campaign ran.

Creative Director & Writer: John Downing
Art Director: Brendan Gallogly
Designers: Phil Blackowl, Natalie Colburn
CMO: Jonathan Metrick