Lenses cast upon the high heels, then slip up through the skinny legs, the breeze caresses her glamorous dress, creating mild waves on its curly surface, her hair is glaring in the street light, so are the flamboyant lips painted in scarlet. She’s a fine young lady, slightly leaning forward, awaiting.
Then from far looms the dazzling head light of a black shiny sedan which is parked accurately in front of the lady in a flash, a formally-suited male opens the door and comes off the driver’s seat, in his 30s, the driver’s face is marked with ruggedly handsome features, the lady chuckles and is then introduced carefully into the car from the back door.
The engine sparks fluffy growls, the young lady leans loosely against the backrest, her juicy lips tremble in a slow yet inviting rhythm. Occasionally the driver would glance at the interior mirror and then smile in a professional manner, expecting no response.
The destination turns out not distant, a few moments pass before the car engine is silenced at the entrance of some community building. The young lady is then shown outside by the driver and rides her high heels home.
The big screen dims, and then on it runs the texts in its boldest weight of whatever font:
Nothing, except safety, is going to happen.
This was a viral ad of a local car hailing company called Shenzhou Zhuanche, playing prior to the feature film 3 years ago when I was sitting in the theater. It was when Uber was still a thing in China, and this clip was obviously mocking Uber ended up being a serendipitous hook-up app for strangers.
This ad has been echoing in my brain since then. Despite the irritating internal scandals, no one could ignore Uber’s contribution in promoting “sharing economy” on this vast land, practically it had significantly improved the service level in the taxi industry, pushed the regulatory parties to come up with effective provisions, and, as is above, boosted rivals’ creativity….
Oh, those good old days….
