Is Uber Native Advertising with Wiz Khalifa & Curren$y on the Song “Uber Driver?”
March 30, 2015
“I’m gonna hafva call a Uba to get througha traffic”
Product placement in rap songs has long been known but doesn’t make it any less deceptive. So, did the ethically challenged Uber pay or compensate Wiz Khalifa & Curren$y in any way for their latest song titled Uber Driver? It’s not like after Uber’s God-View PR nightmare (that they completely ignored) we’d ever expect Uber or the company’s CEO Travis Kalanick to be forthcoming with transparent information. If Wiz Khalifa and or Curren$y were compensated (money or rides for life etc.) from Uber for Uber Driver ethically it should be disclosed so that people know whether they’re listening to a glorified Uber advertisement or not. Is this the newest form of native advertising?
How much did Uber pay Wiz Khalifa x Curren$y for Uber Driver? #Marketing #TheSociopathicBusinessModel https://t.co/OslE2BK7Q5
— Melayna Lokosky (@MelaynaLokosky) March 30, 2015
Native advertising is a sub-set of the catch-all content marketing, meaning the practice of using content to build trust and engagement with would-be customers. Native advertising can be a promoted tweet on Twitter, suggested post on Facebook or one of those full-page ads between Flipboard pages, but more commonly it is about how brands now work with online publications to reach people. The Guardian
So is native advertising leaping off our computer screens and into our earbuds? Companies usually get a little upset if someone uses their name or likeness without permission/compensation. It’s not likely the rappers paid Uber; but, we’ll just have to wait for a company response. (ha!)
Marketing Product Placement: How much was @wizkhalifa #PAID for his song @UberDriver? Care to comment @travisk? #TheSociopathicBusinessModel — Melayna Lokosky (@MelaynaLokosky) March 30, 2015
Or did Uber just have deeper pockets than iphone, Apple TV and Nextflix? (also mentioned in the song). Uber’s again mentioned on at least one another song off his latest project #2009. Sad, I actually like the song (and support hometown Pittsburgh Pride) and would have paid to download it but I boycott Uber. I’m sure he’ll live with one less download-I’ll just wait for his boycott Uber track, c’mon it’s not a matter of ‘if‘ it’s ‘when.’
And speaking of ‘if‘ not ‘when‘ another Uber Driver Stuck and killed a Native Pittsburgh Man in New York (January 2015)
Perhaps it’s just good (and by good I mean unethical to distance from accountability while placing blame) marketing on the part of Uber because now when you punch Uber Driver killed into Twitter this pops up instead:
ayyyyyy… my babe @wizkhalifa killed this #UberDriver
— The Jet Mrs. (@xxjustvonniexx) March 30, 2015
“The citizens of Pittsburgh-that hardened, blue-collar town on the banks of the Monongahela River, long ago described as “Hell with the lid taken off”- indulge a style that could be referred to as “Game Day Casual” (or “Meth Lab Formal,” depending on your preference.) It stems from their love of a certain NFL franchise and an utter indifference to their personal appearance and what you think of them.” -GQ Magazine
This quote was in the article linked below the picture above-makes me miss Pittsburgh.
Lana Keeton
This stuff is so insidious, you never know anymore what is a fact or outright fiction in what you read, hear, see on TV, online, at the gas pump, in videos. If an individual has no core beliefs or convictions, they are constantly influenced and swayed in their decision making processes.
In other words, a corrupt culture caused by the so aptly named Sociopathic Business Model (c). Kudos Melayna! You are so smart and perceptive and I really appreciate the issues you continually bring to light!