TSA Turns To Unusual Spaces To Sell Advertising Slots To Fund Equipment Upgrade

November 4, 2008 6:13 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - To upgrade airport security equipment, the Transportation Security Administration is selling advertising spaces on plastic bins, carts and stainless steel tables where passengers place their bags for screening.

TSA spokesman Sterling Payne said it is part of a 12-month experiment which would permit the placement of advertising materials in selected airport items at 14 American airports including Los Angeles, Denver and Seattle-Tacoma. For the sold ad spaces, TSA already raised $435,000 which it used to purchase new checkpoint gadgets.

Among the buyers of the ad space were Zappos.com, an online shoe and apparel store, Sony and Sylvania.

Joe Ambrefe, president of SecurityPoint Media, which sold the bin ads, said the 12-by-18-inch ad spaces on the bins provide high visibility for products as thousands of people pass through the airports daily. SecurityPoint distributed 14,000 new bins throughout the 14 U.S. gateways. It replaces the bins every three months and recycles the old containers into building materials.

The 14 airports get a portion from the advertising fees.

The upgrade seeks to improve security clearance procedures at various American airports. Two weeks ago the Homeland Security Department announced the launch of the Secure Flight program which will validate air passengers' data so there will be less chance a traveler will be mistaken for someone on the terrorist watch list.