Digiday AI-Powered Planning Strategies:

Join us on July 30 in NYC for a breakfast & panel

APPLY TO ATTEND

Internet mourns the retirement of noted subway advertiser Dr. Zizmor

Ads on the New York City subway are about to become less colorful now that Dr. Jonathan Zizmor has announced he’s finished.

The Daily News reports that he’s quietly closed his Midtown clinic and is done administering acid peels and botox treatments. The 70-year-old dermatologist is retiring. Zizmor became a micro-celebrity in New York due to his campy, cheesy and colorful subway ads that promised “beautiful clear skin” and other modern miracles.

Zizmor’s face has been glaring at passengers since the early 1980s, when he was one of the first doctors to advertise there. “I got a lot of heat when I started,” Zizmor said in 2009, adding “No one was on the subway … no one was even advertising.”

Soon after the news broke, Zizmor’s name started trending on Twitter as people mourned the end of an era:

Now we’ll have to just endure years of Casper and CitiBank ads.

More in Marketing

Walmart reveals soccer fans’ World Cup shopping habits

New data is from Walmart is showing that consumer shopping habits shifted during the 2026 World Cup.

Future of Marketing Briefing: What World Cup breakout stars Haaland and Zlatan can teach marketers about sports stardom

This year’s soccer darlings confirm the emergence of a new kind of sporting celebrity in direct conversation with fandom and social media.

Brands won this season of ‘Love Island USA’

Brands are eager to find their way into shows like Love Island USA and events that have become appointment viewing.