How Amtrak used '90s monster truck commercials to make its top Instagram post of all time

Fast Company

3 days ago

Are you flying this summer? If so, Amtrak has a message for you: Don't be ridiculous.
That's the opening manifesto of the company's new ' Summer train-tacular ' spoof ad, which is currently raking in hundreds of thousands of views across Amtrak's social media platforms. The video hypes up Amtrak's California Zephyr (Chicago to San Francisco), Coast Starlight (Seattle to Los Angeles), and City of New Orleans (Chicago to, you guessed it, New Orleans) train lines and takes a few pointed shots at air travel—all in the style of the comically macho, over-the-top Monster Jam monster truck ads of the '90s.
'Little bags of pretzels? No way! Tiny windows? I don't think so! Middle seats? Get outta here! Take the train instead,' the narrator shouts, adding, 'Over 18 inches of seat—but you'll only need the edge!!!'
So far, the Monster Jam parody has garnered 418,000 views on Instagram and nearly 7,000 comments, making it Amtrak's top engaged Instagram post of all time. Across all Meta platforms (Instagram, Facebook, and Threads), the post has notched nearly half a million shares. These are huge numbers for Amtrak, which, according to senior social media specialist Naleen Camara, tends to net around 100 comments on the average social post.
Jessica Davidson, vice president of digital and brand management at Amtrak, says train-tacular is just one example of how Amtrak is currently shifting its social media strategy as it enters 'a new era of rail.' Amtrak is currently in the process of building new high-speed rail lines, upgrading its train car design, and renovating its stations—all in an effort to double its 2024 record of 32.8 million annual riders by 2040. Now, Amtrak is betting that one way to meet that goal is convincing digitally native users to choose train travel over flight, one silly video at a time.
Amtrak ups its social media game
To some, a Monster Jam spoof might seem like an out-of-character move for a relatively staid legacy brand like Amtrak. But a similar blend of unhinged, chaotic, and irreverent humor has helped brands across a spectrum of industries—like Duolingo, Pop Tarts, Nutter Butter, and Pine Sol —stand out on social media amidst an endless sea of other brands.
Camara says Amtrak has been slowly infusing some of these tactics into its social content over the course of several years, looking to see what sticks. As a Gen Zer herself, she's particularly aware of how much marketing content young users are exposed to on a daily basis, and how difficult it can be to break through to them.
'It takes a lot to stop the scroll for a digital native when they become so expectant of [polished, done-up] content from a brand,' Camara says. 'We're really starting to pick up on that, and leaning into what is going to stop you, what is going to make you lock eyes with me. That's resulted in these more unconventional posts.'
This experimental approach has resulted in several social media wins for Amtrak. In 2022, the company raked in 152,000 likes on X for simply tweeting the word 'trains,' resulting in a flurry of other companies like McDonald's, NPR, and NASA copying the one-word format.
This January, Amtrak scored a hit TikTok with a video of two hot dogs (one of the train service's popular menu items) moodily gazing out an Amtrak window with the caption, 'us in another universe.' The video currently has 1.2 million views and over 134,000 likes. An, more recently, Amtrak has been leaning into a new tack to set itself apart: taking a few lighthearted jabs at the airline industry.
In March, Southwest Airlines' loss became Amtrak's win when, after the air carrier announced the end of its bag fly free policy, Amtrak received 53,000 likes on the tweet, 'guess we're the only ones doing free baggage now.' The sassy comment hints at a broader marketing effort on Amtrak's part called Retrain Travel, which aims to attract new riders by emphasizing the amenities and experience factor of rail travel over other potential options. With 'train-tacular,' Amtrak appears to have perfected that formula.
How Amtrak sparks joy
As Amtrak's social media team was brainstorming ideas for summer content, Camara says, they needed a format that could highlight the superiority of train travel while appealing to Gen Alpha, Gen Z, and Millennials at the same time. The challenge, then, was 'trying to invoke excitement between these groups that, on the surface, seemingly don't have much in common.'
'In this instance, the-tie in truly was nostalgia and trying to touch that distant memory of an experience that you wish that you were a part of,' Camara says. 'We drew inspiration from retro monster truck commercials, because they were really able to cut through the noise.'
As 'train-tacular' took off, Camara adds, the team even noticed a tone shift in the brand's comments. The video seems to have unlocked a sense of unbridled enthusiasm for Amtrak among younger commenters. 'BE THEERRRRREEEEE,' one user wrote. 'OH IM PUMPED UP BABY,' another wrote.
The response is a positive sign for the company's efforts to entice young riders: 'The sooner people can experience Amtrak, the better as a great way to travel,' Davidson says. 'We absolutely want to absolutely appeal to the next generation of travelers.'
Still, Camara says, Amtrak isn't about to go off the rails into full chaos-mode anytime soon.
'In general, when it comes to having these viral moments, it is amazing, and you truly are on this high, but at the end of the day, you can't lose sight of what works and what messaging is core to you and your brand,' Camara says. 'If every single post is Monster Truck, then nothing is Monster Truck.'