Well, this is weird.
We got an email alerting us that this weekend, Uber customers might picked up in a dump truck, rather than the typical antiseptic black Prius.
And that’s just the start of it. The list of vehicles on offer to riders will include a presidential limo, a VW Microbus (no word on whether or not the overpowering scent of patchouli oil will be included), and for those who wish to reenact a few melancholic scenes from Garden State on your way to the Mariners game, there will also be a motorcycle with a sidecar available.
Here’s the skinny. On Friday and Saturday, from 2-8 p.m., Uber riders will have the opportunity to have their rides “remixed” by selecting a setting next to the typical “UberX” and “black car” options. If you enter the promo code ‘take5remix’ while calling up an Uber, you could end up getting a ride in anything from a classic car to a Sherman tank (OK, not really). Best of all, the Remix ride will be free up to $20.
What, pray tell, is this event promoting, you ask? Candy bars, duh.
As we all know, variety is the oregano flakes sprinkled on the cheese pizza of life—or in this case the caramel injected into middle of the milk chocolate—so why not toss a little dash of that goodness into something people use everyday, like Uber. This is the thought process behind Hershey’s “Take 5 Uber Remix” promotional event.
Dan Mohnshine, Marketing Director at The Hershey Corporation, says Hershey is “remixing” the ridesharing experience as part of Hershey’s attempt to rebrand the Take 5 as a candy bar for “millennials” (pro-tip, the word “millennial” itself is nearly as off-putting to members of that demographic as the word “entitled”.) Every time someone gets picked up in a strange car, they will also be treated a free candy bar, or perhaps a dump truck full of them.
Similar promotional events have been held in Nashville and Denver. Mohnshine says the kids have loved it, citing the numerous tweets, Facebook posts and Instagram photos of riders posing with their “remixed” Uber rides, sporting the hashtag ‘uberremix’.
But what’s with the presidential limo? Who will be driving such a machine? We’re still not totally sure, but inasmuch as this is a publicity stunt, it’s a good one.
With the Pride festival happening this weekend, brand exposure is almost certain as people of all ages, including the ever-sought-after “millennials” scuttle about the city in preparation for the festivities. So remember, If adding the finishing touches to your Pride float on Saturday leaves you particularly exhausted, you can use that promotional code to treat yourself to a ride in a mystery-mobile along with a fistful of candy bars to stress-eat your way back into the waking world.
