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Original link from The Wall Street Journal

5 points

Video ads will run on the primary Uber app while users wait for their drivers to arrive and during their trips, said Mark Grether, vice president and general manager of Uber Technologies’ advertising division. They will also appear on tablets installed inside certain Uber cars.

The Uber Eats app will play video ads after customers place orders and continue until their deliveries arrive; Drizly will run them in search results on its app and website as well as other areas of the site.

Why do they think anyone will leave the app open after ordering, if it just plays ads nonstop? Is the idea that each time they load it to check their order status an ad starts playing?

Audio for ads on the company’s apps will be muted by default, while users will need to manually turn off the audio and display components of the in-ride tablets, according to Grether. Ad inventory will initially be sold directly to buyers in the form of brand takeover packages, with only one company’s ads running during any single ride or transaction.

In-car tablets with audio-enabled ads for a single company on repeat. Poor poor drivers.

I bet the first thing a driver will say once a patron gets in is “you can click this button right here to disable the ad (please please please)”

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2 points

Wait, so there’s ads playing in the car, but the driver doesn’t get any extra revenue as a result? Why would the drivers even allow that? If I were a driver and was forced to install those tablets, I’d probably just unsolder the speaker.

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1 point

Maybe they do get paid extra? I’m not sure.

Or maybe they’ll prioritize drivers who have the advertising package. Wouldn’t want riders to get an inferior (read: less ad-filled) experience, now would we?

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1 point

This is so egregious that it sounds like a scene from a cyberpunk movie. Almost humourously bizarre.

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8 points

If you aren’t paying you are the product…Wait…Aren’t we paying?

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6 points

Yes but… what if we could make more money?

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9 points

I’ll be happy if they go through with this. I already have trouble resisting the lure of easy access food, but this will help me kick that habit.

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6 points

This should be good for Lyft.

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4 points

Uber and lyft both work on web mobile. Still a good reason to not use uber though.

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