When John Zimmer and Logan Green wanted to market their ride-sharing service, Lyft, they opted for something a little out of the ordinary and adorned their cars with pink mustaches.
Instantly recognizable, the “Carstache” has made Lyft vehicles stand out on the road, and could possibly account for burgeoning sales—the company arranges 30,000 rides a week, letting users order rides from drivers on the roads.
Although the origins of this quirky idea have been fuzzy, the color pink may have been left over from the idea of Lyft becoming an all womens’ ride-sharing service.
However, this stereotypically feminine color may have given their brand a touch of irony as it embellishes a masculine icon, the mustache—making this service seem a lot more fun than that of their rivals.
The company has even gone further with this symbol, kicking off a mustache parade when they launch their service in other cities, and launching a persona for company cars—the DiscoLyft, for example, is “blinged out” with an LED mustache.
Many drivers have also taken to wearing mustache-themed accessories when they drive, even giving them to passengers.
This marketing campaign has been so successful that the founders hired a “Carstache creator”, Ethan Eyler, to keep making car mustaches for the company.
Right now, Eyler is focusing on creating “weather-proof” pink mustaches so that these recognizable icons will be more waterproof when cruising the rainy streets of Chicago and Seattle.
What do you think—is this a fun way of branding a ride-sharing service, or is it over the top?
[via CNet News]