Watch the MTA's Subway Etiquette Ads Brought to Life in a Hilarious New Video

Two New Yorkers recently took the MTA’s new "Courtesy Counts" subway etiquette campaign to an all new level — and it’s hilarious.

Christian "CJ" Koegel told the Village Voice he and Chris Zelig were inspired by the red and green stick figures often seen in recently-installed MTA ads, and decided to make a video depiction of what it would look like for grown men in red and green body suits to act out the MTA in real life. 

When reached by email, Koegel told Thrillist other passengers “were laughing, taking pictures, and a few of them even helped us out” during the making of the video. 

As for his personal experiences with subway etiquette, Koegel said he rarely observes people acting poorly on the train, but said riders who don’t give up their seats for women or others who may need to sit for safety reasons bothers him the most.

“The MTA is doing a good job illustrating how one should behave as a passenger,” he said. “Considering there are millions of riders every day and very few problems, it seems like everyone is getting along well.”

The video shows Koegel and Zelig on the A train, pole dancing, manspreading, and making a nuisance of themselves. Dropping trash on the subway platform has never been so funny.

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Tony Merevick is the Cities News Editor at Thrillist. He thinks maybe the answer is just colorful full-body suits. Follow him on Twitter @tonymerevick.