This story appears in the April/May 2016 issue of strategy.

Silver: Tech breakthrough
Bronze: CSR
Bronze: Path to Purchase / Out-of-Store

To help raise awareness, positive sentiment and trial of Uber X, Rethink created Uber Safe, a breathalyzer kiosk that brought Uber’s app into a physical street installation, with a twist on the app’s typical delivery.

The agency designed and custom-built wireless kiosks embedded with an alcohol sensor and an Android tablet connected to Uber’s platform. When drinkers blew through a disposable straw, the kiosk calculated their blood-alcohol content. If the person was over the legal driving limit, a driver was sent to the location within minutes, providing a free and safe ride home.

The agency and brand rolled out the breathalyzer on one of the biggest drinking nights of the year: St. Patrick’s Day, a hazy holiday when drunk driving nearly triples. It was later taken across the country and installed in parking lots near bars for drinkers to easily find.

Credits
Advertiser | Uber
Agency | Rethink
CDs | Dre Labre, Aaron Starkman, Chris Staples, Ian Grais
AD | Simon Au
CW | Francesco Grandi
Interactive designer | Alex Fleming
Interactive producer | Todd Harrison, Narine Artinian
Broadcast producer | Vanessa Birze
Build | Jeff Forest, Stacklab
Technologist | Brent Marshall, Eightlines
Production company | Someplace Nice
Post-production house | Fort York VFX
Audio house | Keen Music