Uber The Unthinkable Ride
Problem
São Paulo, the fourth-largest city in the world, has struggled with decades of insufficient city planning for transportation growth, leaving its people to negotiate a daily battle for space on its streets. How could we raise awareness of this issue amongst a massive urban audience while inspiring them to adopt innovative transportation solutions?
Background
Since its arrival in Brazil, Uber has helped people find the best possible ways to get around the city, partnering with us to communicate its solutions.
Ambition
To reshape the conversation around transit through highly visible, temporary mobility activations designed to expose urban bottlenecks and inspire public demand for change.
IDEA The Unthinkable Ride
To mark ten years of reimagining transit in gridlocked São Paulo, Uber showcased two unprecedented ways to move. First, we revived the Pinheiros River, declared dead for 60 years, with a custom boat navigating its debris to unlock a forgotten 70km transit route. Second, we bypassed one of the city's worst bottlenecks with a 70-meter commuter slide. Together, these actions proved that even in the most congested spaces, the future of transportation lies in looking where no one else dares to.
Celebrating 10 years of Uber reinventing mobility in Brazil.
Role
Creative Strategy and Insight
Leaned into a clear contradiction: the world’s 4th largest city is trapped in traffic, while Uber is built on the freedom of movement.
Area mapping
Identified the areas most affected by traffic, the ones with the greatest potential to get people’s attention.
Boat and slide designs
Designed the activations: two new transportation modes in the city to make them impossible to go unnoticed and 100% integrated with Uber's identity.
Experience development
Turned both activations into events, so that people could safely experience the new transportation modes.
Influencers Integration
Mobilised influencers to experience the new attractions, scaling our message and driving mass awareness.
Result
The Uber Boat served to raise the subject in unimaginable ways, even entering the São Paulo mayoral debate as candidates proposed adopting it permanently. The success rippled nationwide, prompting enquiries from other state governments eager to replicate a solution born to spark the conversation.
Simultaneously, the campaign drove Uber's best-ever week on TikTok and a 100% surge in positive brand sentiment.
57.5M
Impressions across platforms
+3000%
Social media engagement
+4500
People went down the slide
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