This taxi-app ad did not go down so well with yellow cab drivers

Jordan

Published: 2017-07-12 13:41

Last Updated: 2024-03-16 10:07


Easy taxi advertisement.
Easy taxi advertisement.

An advertisement by one smart transportation operator has angered Jordanian activists for being "offensive" to yellow taxi drivers.

The advertisement depicts taxi drivers as favouring certain passengers due to sex, according to activists.

The controversial ad depicts two scenes: the first shows man standing on a sidewalk, revealing his leg in an attempt to hail a yellow taxi. The second shows a man ordering an the taxi app car, and the words "Take it Easy" in the background.

One activist describes the ad as "an attempt to compete with other companies operating in the same field. He also demanded taxi drivers to boycott the organisation, as the taxi app often relies on yellow cabs to serve their customers.

The Jordanian taxi driver syndicate has said they will sue the taxi app and all parties involved in the advert. 

However, others have agreed that the ad is a realistic depiction of society, arguing that taxi drivers generally tend to favour women passengers.

‘The ad describes reality, why are you upset about it?’ said one social media user. ‘Taxi drivers stop for women rather than men,’ he added.

This observation, despite the fact that the advertisement clearly depicts the leg of a man - a sign, perhaps, that a woman’s sexuality continues to be taboo in today’s patriarchal societies.

With this in mind, some have asked who should be more offended: The taxi drivers or the women, who would undoubtedly face social condemnation if they exposed their leg on the street as depicted in the ad.