Take a look at this parody TTC merchandise

Take a look at this parody TTC merchandise

When the TTC launched an online merch store full of items celebrating the transit system’s cool vehicles and retro-modern typography, it seemed, to some, like a marketing masterstroke. To others, it was an opening for parody.

A few days ago, a Reddit user announced that he and a friend had created a fake online TTC store with items that highlight the less pleasant aspects of travel on one of North America’s most chronically underfunded big-city subway networks. The store started as a joke, but within 72 hours it had become a reality. A website, NotInService.ca, is now actually selling the stuff.

The guys behind NotInService, Mike and Marty, withheld their last names and declined to be interviewed, citing the need “to figure out a few things”—whatever those might be. (Cut to: Mike and Marty glowering at each other over a pile of loose cash, Treasure of the Sierra Madre-style.)

In any case, here’s a tour of their cleverest items.

The Loudspeaker Tee

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Ah yes, unintelligible PA announcements. Who doesn’t love a little bafflement with their delay-induced frustration? They go together like milk and coffee.

The Line 1 Button

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We can’t remember the last time we were delayed by more than 30 minutes or so on the subway, but point taken.

The What Else is New? Tee

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The TTC’s unofficial slogan, finally in T-shirt form.

Ding Dang Dong

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Mike and Marty show their mastery of the onomatopoeic form with this textual rendering of the TTC’s famous triple chime.