Hear from execs at The New York Times, Thomson Reuters, Trusted Media Brands and many others
Kate Upton, Neil Patrick Harris and Ashton Kutcher are tweeting support for Uber
Uber is taking its fight with New York City mayor Bill de Blasio to the stars.
In preparation for a city council vote tomorrow that could limit the number of ride-sharing vehicles on the street, Uber is pulling out all the stops to sway public opinion against the bill in the form of a celebrity endorsement.
Now they’re getting a little help from their friends — including Ashton Kutcher, Neil Patrick Harris and, weirdly, model (and noted video game player) Kate Upton — all of whom tweeted about the fracas today.
Three’s a trend, right?
.@BilldeBlasio Why do you want to return to days when only those in Midtown & Lower Manhattan could get a ride? #UberMovesNYC
— Kate Upton (@KateUpton) July 22, 2015
Harris also directly addressed Hizzoner:
.@BilldeBlasio: 25K new residents use @Uber_NYC each week. How is a fixed # of cars supposed to serve this demand for rides? #UberMovesNYC
— Neil Patrick Harris (@ActuallyNPH) July 22, 2015
Kutcher joined in, too, more vocally than the others. His VC firm A-Grade Investments is an investor in Uber, so he’s probably really interested to see how this plays out:
NYC council member explain to teachers who drive #uber to subsidize their income that they won’t have a job cause U took 25k from a taxi co
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) July 22, 2015
10,000 jobs is nothing to scoff at, @BilldeBlasio #uberNYC
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) July 22, 2015
These perfectly crafted tweets nailing home Uber’s talking points seem to look #sponsored, as many on Twitter thought. Craig Ewer, the digital communications director at Uber, said on Twitter that Upton or others are not getting any money or even free rides to tweet about them.
Uber sent out an email this morning encouraging its riders to ratchet up the heat against the mayor’s office by telling them to tweet their support. A source confirmed to Digiday that there wasn’t any special outreach and they must have seen the email.
Earlier today, Uber bought ad space on The New York Times‘ website using a quote from the newspaper’s editorial board saying de Blasio’s cap was a “bad idea.” That’s in addition to commercials airing on local television and a fake option on its app that mocks de Blasio.
Stars are indeed just like you and me: spending endless amount of time on Twitter talking about Uber!
More in Marketing
Inside the C-Suite: Anthropologie launches Maeve as a new brand using influencers, TikTok and (of course) Substack
Brands have previously tipped their toes into editorial by launching whole media publications — think MEL Magazine from Dollar Shave Club or Here Magazine from Away.
In graphic detail: Inside the creator economy’s M&A boom
The creator economy is entering a new era of legitimacy and scale — signaling that investors see creators as full-fledged media worth betting on.
How tariffs have upended the back-to-school season
Consumers are more concerned about finding the best deal than they were a year ago, according to recent consumer surveys.