VMLY&R

Client: Roads & Transport Authority
Product: Taxi cabs
Title: Who's your cabbie
Media: Taxi Top Lightboxes
Country: United Arab Emirates
Date Of Campaign: November, 2020

Background: Globally over millions of taxi drivers are in operation every day. This commonplace job in every city of every country is a thankless career where nobody even knows who they are. They fulfil their functional purpose. So much so that they are called names that aren’t even names – ‘Sir’, ‘Boss’, ‘My friend’, ‘Taxi Driver’. • Brief RTA, Dubai’s transport authority, wanted to recognize their taxi drivers as heroes that keep the city moving. During the pandemic, when the entire city stood still, taxi drivers were a saving grace to the people of Dubai. • Objectives We wanted to ensure that the taxi drivers of Dubai felt truly appreciated and, moreover, recognized.

Idea: We needed to find a way that gave our city heroes something that would encourage them; something that had long-term value; and something they, as well as yellow-cab taxis all over the world never really had – their name. Our idea was to replace 4 monotonous letters on the top of taxi cabs (TAXI) with the name of the driver behind the wheel. This small change with a big heart ushered in a sense of inclusion, humanizing their job, garnering respect, and reaffirming purpose to their essential career.

Results: 69.7 million Earned Media Impressions (ZERO spend) 91% increase in Roads & Transport Authority Approval Ratings 73% increase in taxi rides Over 2000 changed Taxi Tops (replaced with driver name)