Ever since 2013, Uber has steadily put itself on the face of the ride-hailing market in India and is speeding the way forward. It has undergone quantitative speculations over dozens of laws and has thrived to keep the market shares consistent. As a part of its latest brand campaign, ‘Move Forward’ Uber India has come up with a series of print and outdoor campaign. The four films that encapsulate the core idea of adoption and moving forward has been conceptualised by BBH India. The idea is to encourage the population to empower themselves in everyday situations.
Turning the focus on the adverts that have been made around the lives of Uber commuters, these four films depict real-life instances where the people hail from different walks of life and different region but move forward in the same direction.
One of the stories depicts an old couple using the Uber app to pre-book a taxi so that they can surprise their grandchild on his birthday at the stroke of midnight. This narrative brings about the sensitive topic of elderly people being less independent and imobile which is where Uber comes in play to jaunt them out of their 80s into their 18s.
The other one follows the life of a newlywed pair struggling to repair their fan in the midst of intense summer afternoon. As a result, they book an Uber and enjoy some alone-time in the comfort of an air-conditioned vehicle. The subtlety of the picturization falls on the merits it offers as a brand within a reasonable range.
Next, comes in scene a dictatorial mother exploring suitable prospective consort for her daughter as they commute in Uber Pool. It’s a satirical take on the dating apps like Tinder that have sprung in the last decade.
Speaking of which, we come to our last print that opens with a young girl in the back seat revising her lessons while being driven to school. The driver manages to get her little one through traffic to make her reach on time for her test. While she talks away in English with her father, the film reveals that the man is able to afford English medium schooling for her daughter, thanks to Uber.
The brand is obviously detouring from the tongue and cheek humour that has gotten things running in recent times. Unlike others, it has taken a very harmonious road where it builds focus on both drivers and consumers collectively. In a conversation with Financial Express, Ashwin Dias, General Manager, Uber India says, “The campaign focuses on both riders and driver partners. It emphasises that Uber driver partners are like you and me who have a family and are working.”
Uber gives a reason for both drivers and consumers to come on board through these soft-spoken adverts. In one of such efforts to magnetise the market share in the country, it has also launched a pan-India challenge UberPITCH in partnership with the ministry of commerce and industry where the innovators would get the opportunity to meet investors and make a pitch. Of course, their focus would be more on the Indian ground as they’ve shied away from China’s Didi Chuxing; The Uber Slayer as they’d be referred to as. They’ve been reportedly handling more volumes than Ola now which clearly boils down to one thing; they’re ready to push and #MoveForward.
