A winner Uber alles

TAXI AD: SHOWS HOW PASSIONATE SOUTH AFRICANS ARE ABOUT THEIR CARS

Shoo wah, dude … spot on

But Cape Town’s water ad deserves an Onion – which needs very little water.

Here’s the truth: I have never take an Uber myself. I have not downloaded the app and have only used the service in company of others. Does that make me a technophobe? No, I don’t think so. I was impressed with the Uber drivers on both occasions I rode with others and prefer them any day to metered taxis, especially given that the meter people seem prone to violence. (I know ride hailing services are not immune to customer complaints, though …)

What interests me about Uber the brand is the fact that I am now seeing some of its ads on TV. That surprised me because Uber likes to position itself as the “disruptor”, scornfully ignoring the paradigms of traditional business. Not much more conventional than TV advertising is there?

Most of Uber’s business has come by way of word-of-mouth and by the huge amount of publicity it has generated – first overseas and then here as it became established. Long before TV ads appeared they had already become such an established part of the lives of middle class South Africans that I wonder if the ads are at all necessary.

Mind you, there is now a bit of competition in the market from the likes of Taxify which, so I am told, is slightly cheaper than Uber.

Having said that, I do like the latest set of Uber, produced locally by Grey Advertising.

They all feature drivers having emotional partings from their cars – abandoning them because Uber is more convenient or even safer. In one case, a football fan turns his back on his collector’s item VW Golf VR6 (sorry I’m a petrolhead and I notice these things) to head to the game. He is going to be drinking, he explains. He can’t do that if he is driving …

In the other, we see a typical Cape Town clever (with his CT-registered pink Peugeot 207). He is dressed like, drives a car like and speaks like, an ad agency type. And he is on his way to a “presentation”. He wants to read it on the way, which he can’t do if he’s driving – hence the Uber.

The ads work because they speak, in a humorous way, to the often passionate relationships many South Africans have with their cars. It also highlights the convenience and safety aspects of the product. Which is the way advertising should be done. It has reminded me (although I already did know) of the benefits of ride hailing services.

So, Orchids to Uber and to Grey Advertising.

Talking about advertising dudes, the one used by the City of Cape Town to plug its water-saving campaigns looks like a parody. If it’s not then it shows that whoever put it together is not in touch with reality ... and especially the reality of social media which can rip apart a badly conceived idea.

Sam is the hero of the ad, all lovely milk white skin and reddish beard. He is saving water, the ad says, because he knows our lives depend upon it.

Hundreds of Twitter cynics tore into the ad in the past few weeks, noting that the character sums up a Cape Town that probably only exists in the heads of ad agency copywriters.

Sam quickly had his details filled in by the Twitterati: he lives in Tamboerskloof; is a copywriter (or “idea engineer” as he prefers to put it); drinks only craft beer and imports free trade Rwanda coffee via microlight to reduce the carbon footprint. Shoo wah, dude … spot on. When your advertising – even if it is in support of a good cause – leaves you open to parody, then it does not work. I cannot believe this was approved …

So, City of Cape Town, you get an Onion.

Which, so I understand, requires very little water…

Seen any similar absurdities? Drop me a line at brendans@citizen.co.za