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Rate Uber’s new radio ad

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Uber is trying to make its case for expanding in Chicago through new radio ads that trumpet its availability in underserved parts of the city.

The ad, provided to POLITICO Illinois, doesn’t focus on Uber’s biggest battle right now – getting a City Council OK to pick up at city airports.

The ad instead urges residents living in rougher neighborhoods to lean on their aldermen to give the rideshare company broader reach in the city. The company says its Uber X takes an average of five minutes to reach the west and south sides. […]

The ad is already airing on stations like WGCI and WVON, which have greater percentages of minority listeners. […]

The Chicago ad says, “Think about this. When’s the last time you saw a taxi cab in your neighborhood? And have you ever had an empty cab pass you by? And how does that make you feel? People assume that there isn’t much we can do about it. But we can. We don’t have to put up with that any more. With your phone, you can download an app that puts you in charge … Next time you see your alderman, tell them you support Uber’s efforts to bring reliable rides everywhere in this city to everyone.”

* Rate it…

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 9:17 am

Comments

It is an ok ad, well executed and good attempt at a message; but my issue with their message is, they dont tell me why their drivers are different. Just like a cab driver must decide to go to the West and South sides to look for fares, the Uber driver has to decide to accept a request from the South and West sides. Uber hasn’t told me why their drivers are different and think differently than the cab drivers currently on the street. Does Uber mandate its drivers accept a certain percentage of rides from under-served areas? Do they pay their drivers more if they accept rides from under-served areas? If they told me how how or why they their drivers are different than cab drivers, I think their message would resonate more.

Comment by Red Ranger Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 9:29 am
I wonder what the characters in August Wilson’s, JITNEY, would have to say about Uber.

Comment by DE Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 9:38 am
Wow.

I can only rate this Ad by my impression to what it says about Cab service, and the impression this Ad gives about the lack of availability of Cabs servicing areas in Chicagoland.

As my prism, it’s a solid B+ as the Ad identifies a problem they see, and Uber being the answer to an identified market for its service, and seems to speak to frustrations as well.

How this will be received as an Ad, I can’t speak to any of that.

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 9:38 am
Home run.

Smart political strategy and concept focusing on a universal, long-held and emotional perception of discrimination plus the promise of jobs. What’s not to like?

I have no way of knowing if Über’s claims of ride origination and job recruitment are accurate, but they sure do sound good.

The airports are the El Dorado for drivers. I couple of buddies of mine used to drive limo to O’Hare originating outside of Cook. No problem.

But the competition for pickups after drop off to avoid deadheading was fierce. Those marshaling areas were like the Wild West and at times violent as everyone was chasing the same buck.

It’s going to be a whale of a battle. If you’re familiar with Chicago cab drivers, you know they’re not going to accept more airport competition meekly.

Comment by Wordslinger Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 9:48 am
The message seems as forced as Rauner’s advocacy for poor urban residents, perhaps a D+. They hid the central issue which is UBER access to airports behind telling your alderman to let UBER go “everywhere”. Another problem with the ad is that it mentions cab’s which is an admission that they are a cab service, as if, somehow using a phone/computer application makes them something other than what they are, which is a cab service dispatched differently. Then there’s the implication that cab drivers will pass you by, but UBER drivers won’t, because UBER drivers are inherently good, which seems ridiculous.

Comment by AC Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 9:50 am
It’s a very strong pass. Well concepted, well executed, and clearly strongly targeted. It will be very effective. It drags a tad, but not enough to diminish a strong and clear message. Well done. Do another one in :30 that moves a little quicker.

Comment by A guy Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 9:51 am
Ok for it’s purpose, but not sure it will win any favors from the Rahm administration.

Comment by walker Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 9:56 am
It’s an “A”. How many ads can you recall that knocks an industry for ignoring a significant population due to its geography while at the same time, promises 10,000 jobs to the same underserved areas? Very well played.

Comment by Colin O'Scopey Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 10:00 am
AC - one thing that people who have never used Uber don’t seem to grasp is that users and drivers are able to see each other’s ratings before agreeing to the service. All of these scare stories about Uber drivers are nonsense. They actually have to care about the level of service they provide, unlike cab drivers, who are anonymous on pickup and are often rude. And yes, Uber drivers will pick someone up in the suburbs or outskirts of the city without charging double. Often, the Uber driver lives in your neighborhood, and frequent the area instead of only serving the airports and downtown.

Comment by Southwest Cook Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 10:12 am
I rate it as a sold B for both what is said in the ad and its presentation. For the targeted audience it will have a good impact.

The problem is in what is not said in the ad. Specifically, nothing is said about access by Uber to O’Hare. O’Hare is a pot of gold for the taxi trade and anyone else who can operate there.

Comment by Hit or Miss Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 10:14 am
The taxi industry, on the advice of Mara Georges (Mayor Daley’s long-time Corp Counsel), will sink their teeth deeper into the rumps of Aldermen, like Anthony Beale, to keep the issue of Uber access at airports, Navy Pier and McCormick Place from advancing.

I see a “compromise” in the tea leaves that will open the airports to Uber but keep McCormick Place & Navy Pier “taxi only”.

Comment by Colin O'Scopey Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 10:24 am
**users and drivers are able to see each other’s ratings before agreeing to the service.**

Not really… I don’t see the driver’s rating until after the car is on the way.

Comment by AlabamaShake Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 10:32 am
I have a buddy in Beverly with 2 young kids and at 1 am I can get an uber in his residential area in 5-10 min. I wouldn’t be visiting him without uber. One thing I noticed is the south side uber drivers are usually not wild about a trip to the north side as a few of them have noted they primarily service the south side. Sure its a meaningless sample size, but my personal experience does fit their narrative.

As for the airport, who wouldn’t want a clean car to pick them up after an exhausting flight?

Another note, the last time I picked up a cab in my neighborhood it may have been illegal as it was a Rosemont cab company. I don’t care about that, but do care that he threw a fit when he had to call in my credit card.

Cab companies can make themselves competitive if they drop the Blockbuster video playbook.

Comment by Lil Squeezy Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 10:37 am
Southwest Cook - I don’t take cabs every day, but I’ve never had a bad experience in the Midwest in easily 100+ cab rides, aside from finding it expensive. I’ve never used UBER, but I’m sure that most of their drivers provide good customer service, as have cab drivers in my experience. It’s the implication in the ad that cabs are universally bad, and UBER is universally good that I object to. If I had a different set of experiences my opinion would be different, I’m sure.

Comment by AC Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 10:37 am
Good ad. Having tried to find a cab in the University of Chicago area and other points south, it’s near impossible.

Comment by Downstate Illinois Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 10:42 am
AC,

The app does make them different until the cab companies adopt it and promote it to the extent that people use it. There can be a blizzard and I can wait indoors for my uber to arrive and know when it will arrive. Try phoning a cab in a blizzard. Its a completely different level of service. Uber drivers may not be inherently good, but their service is inheritently better.

Comment by Lil Squeezy Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 10:44 am
I think the biggest difference with cabs is Uber is both a non-cash business and a pre-pay business (the app stores the passengers credit card information and automatically charges after the ride).

That changes the decision process of whether or not to pick someone up in a stereotyped neighborhood (e.g., no pays, robberies, etc).

Comment by Anderson Villy Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 10:50 am
It is a great ad. It is also a giant unregulated cab company regardless of the claims of it being a part of “the new sharing economy.” HOwever, I think over-regulation of the taxi industry by cities is what created uber. If the city had figured out how to break the medallions stranglehold and regulate taxis to normal degree allowing competition, Uber could entered as a normal part of the transportation economy. I accidentally took the next cab in line from the o’hare cabstand to the suburbs and had the unhappy surprise that you get double the charge if it is a chicago cab.

Comment by NoGifts Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 11:24 am
Alabama Shake — and after you see the rating you can cancel the ride. If you cancel it right away there is no charge.

Comment by Just Me Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 11:46 am
I’m an Uber driver as I look for a real job (at my old job I was fired in order to make room for a relative of a powerful elected official). Uber provides a service taxi cabs refuse to provide, delivering rides to people in less known or less frequented locations. You can try to call cab for a pick-up, but most of the time they never show.

Comment by Just Me Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 11:49 am
The ad is good. It hits real, concrete points for AfAm: taxi service discrimination and jobs.

Comment by Precinct Captain Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 12:01 pm
It’s a good ad, but only if you’re gullible enough to believe Uber will solve the problem of racial minorities or the geographically undesirables being refused service. I’m skeptical.

To me, Uber is a slightly better option than hitch-hiking.

Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 12:18 pm
I am not a fan of the Uber model - their exemption from safety regulations, their employment structure, their surge pricing model. There is never a good reason to charge someone hundreds of dollars for a ride that would normally cost tens of dollars. I use the Curb app, which operates similarly to Uber except it is for real cab drivers. Have never had a problem getting a pick up and response time has been great.

The ad, much like Uber itself, irritates me. Next time I see my alderman, I’ll tell him that Uber needs to be subject to all the same rules and regulations and costs as real cab drivers are.

Comment by Sweet Jane Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 12:55 pm
“To me, Uber is a slightly better option than hitch-hiking.”

Sooo 47, I guess you’re not a fan. I’m not either.

Comment by Chicago Cynic Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 12:57 pm
I think the ad hits the mark. Also, Anderson Villy’s comment above @ 10:50 am is important because it articulates the Uber model which I believe a lot of people really do not understand. I’ve been a slow adopter to Uber myself but recent conversations with two friends have really solidified my thinking about its safety and reliability.

One, a young late twenties single man uses Uber after an evening of pub crawling where he specifically knows he shouldn’t/can’t use public transportation or drive himself home to the burbs. The other, a successful middle-aged corporate employed African American woman uses Uber all the time to get places both during and after business hours and she absolutely raves about it.

Comment by Responsa Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 1:07 pm
Strong add. For years my friends who live in minority areas have complained about how cabs don’t go to their neighborhoods and/or won’t stop for people of color. Lastly, so far everyone I know that has used Uber tell me they much prefer it over a cab.

Comment by Buddy Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 1:34 pm
Sweet Jane — as an Uber driver I find it impossible to imagine that an Uber ride would cost hundreds of dollars compared to only $10 for a cab. In the two years I’ve been driving the highest fare I’ve ever had was about $45, and that was on New Year’s Eve around 11 p.m.

Comment by Just Me Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 2:24 pm
Actually, some of us are wondering if there are too many taxi cabs in Chicago. Streets are crowded with parked taxi cabs throughout the far North Side. I long for the days when all cabs were prohibited from parking on Chicago streets. Technically, taxis are not supposed to park on residential side streets, but once upon a time all cabs had to be parked in garages or private lots. Now, the cabs are all over arterial streets.

I think that it is a stretch to say that taxi cabs will not service calls on the South or West Sides, but Uber will. According to another ad (seeking Uber drivers), it is suggested that drivers only need to work where and when they want to.

Comment by Different Strokes Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 4:12 pm
From everything I have read about how Uber treats its drivers and its anti-competitive behavior vis a vis Lyft, I will have nothing to do with them. I have tried Lyft a few times, and found it convenient and economical, but downtown, nothing can beat walking outside and hailing a taxi within a minute or two.
It will be interesting to see how tomorrow’s taxi strike goes. I think the playing field needs to be leveled, with ride share services having to pay similar fees to what the taxis have to.

Comment by Dr Kilovolt Wednesday, Oct 7, 15 @ 11:16 pm