An integrated WPP team comprised of VML & Ogilvy Japan (VOJ) and WPP Media announced the launch of “Over-the-top discount” (KOCHO SHISUGITA WARIBIKI), a major new integrated creative campaign for Uber Taxi designed to convert traditional street-hailers into first-time Uber Taxi app users.
As summer’s slow, languid evenings give way to the busier rhythm of fall, with cooler weather, more nights out and later returns home, the campaign, which targets young professionals, taps into this seasonal shift in behaviour, positioning Uber Taxi as the smarter choice for getting home comfortably after long days at work or evenings out with friends.
The campaign introduces an unbelievable promotional offer, up to 99% off first-time rides, brought to life through relatable, high-relatability everyday scenarios like late nights in the office and evenings out with friends. The message is amplified by Hollywood Zakoshi, a beloved Japanese comedian whose signature “over-the-top” style underscores just how unmissable the Uber Taxi promotion really is.
By taking a real consumer insight, that a 99% discount almost sounds too good to be true, and pairing it with Hollywood Zakoshi’s comedy, VOJ dramatized late-night moments that young professionals know all too well and turned a simple promotional push into an engaging piece of cultural entertainment.
Junkichi Tatsuki, Sr. Creative Director at VML & Ogilvy Japan, said:
“Young Japanese professionals are looking for seamless ways to move through the city, especially as the pace picks up after summer and more plans, dinners and nights out fill the calendar. But with Uber and countless other taxi services constantly throwing discounts at them, getting their attention takes more than just another offer. We needed to give them a reason to notice it in the moments that matter, when they’re leaving the office late or wrapping up a night out.”
“So, we invited Hollywood Zakoshi, a master of Japan’s finest exaggerated comedy, to give Uber’s discount a distinctly Japanese twist. Using his signature over-the-top reactions, we turned an ordinary discount into an Over The Top Discount – a discount so exaggerated, so unexpected, and so impossible to ignore that you couldn’t help but notice. Instead of simply telling people how much they could save, we let Hollywood Zakoshi make them feel it, at full volume, right at the point when they’re deciding how to get home. By combining a culturally rooted insight with a uniquely Japanese sense of humor, we created a campaign that makes Uber Taxi the obvious choice to try this fall.”
Running from September 18 through October 24, 2026, the fully integrated campaign spans creative strategy, production, media planning, and execution. Highlights include a high-impact Shibuya Station OOH takeover in Tokyo, alongside dynamic 15-second and 6-second digital video spots across major digital platforms that showcase scenarios such as working late, spontaneous nights out and last trains missed.
The campaign was created by VOJ and WPP Media with talent casting supported by Recologne and film production by Hoedown.