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Need a Rishta? Get a Ride.

By

Web Stories
July 22, 2017

A staple of subcontinental culture is the a quintessential ‘Rishta Aunty’, with whom most members of today’s youth will be familiar. Characterised by her constant hounding to settle down and armed with a roster of potential suitors, any desi can identify a relative who meets this criteria. Popular car service Careem tried to make the most of the oft-satirised societal hallmark by introducing a new feature to their app.

The company’s newest ad campaign has people finding the quickest route to family life. A post by their official Facebook page, uploaded on the 18th of July, reads:

‘Careem offers you the “halaal” way to find the right person. Have a rishta aunty accompany you during your ride.’

The post goes on to give the subsequent details of the ride:
– Open the Careem App and choose Rishta Aunty car type (In case it does not appear, re-login to your app)
– Make a LATER booking between 12pm – 10pm on 19-20 July.
– Press Chalo!

The initiative lasted only 2 days, and Careem’s Sibtain Naqvi issued a statement regarding the company’s unprecedented marketing tactic, “Pakistan has a huge population of young people and still we have trouble meeting people so we thought this would be a good initiative.”

Reaction has been mixed, as some found the promotion clever,

https://twitter.com/asad_sohail27/status/887599001582927874

Some took it as a joke,

Others used it to promote their own brands,

And some were left confused,

Regardless of one’s thoughts on the matter, the initiative seems to have been a success, as Naqvi confirmed: “Today in the morning we already averaged 700 rides. It must be up to 1000 rides now. In fact, we’re overbooked.”