Hasta La Creative!

Austin, Texas, has spent the last 10 months engaged in a big experiment in urban transportation. Uber and Lyft suddenly stopped operating there last May in protest of a law requiring drivers to be fingerprinted. Since then, a wave of startups emerged to fill the gap left by the U.S. ride-hailing giants. Success would be proof that alternative visions of ride-sharing can flourish in a major American city.

But the model will face its biggest test yet on Friday, when crowds in the several hundreds of thousands will start descending upon Austin for the annual South by Southwest festival, a nine-day event that could be accurately described as a tech conference, a music and film festival, and a huge mess. In tech circles, SXSW is renowned for propelling Twitter Inc. and other apps to prominence, at least temporarily. This year’s speakers include Mark Cuban, Gawker’s Nick Denton and Reddit Inc. co-founder Alexis Ohanian.

There are currently seven ride-hailing apps operating in Austin, all of which were in compliance with fingerprinting rules as of Feb. 15, the city said. None of their names will sound familiar to most SXSW attendees. Two apps are leading the pack: RideAustin and Fasten. Both claim to be the city’s leading ride-hailing provider. Michael Ferguson, a professional realtor and recreational beer consumer, prefers RideAustin to get him home after a night of drinking. “RideAustin is pretty normal, man; the app works pretty good, and they have a lot of drivers,” Mr. Ferguson said. “I don’t think that for the customer, getting around this town is an issue anymore.”

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Austin, Texas, has spent the last 10 months engaged in a big experiment in urban transportation. Uber and Lyft suddenly stopped operating there last May in protest of a law requiring drivers to be fingerprinted. Since then, a wave of startups emerged to fill the gap left by the U.S. ride-hailing giants. Success would be proof that alternative visions of ride-sharing can flourish in a major American city.

But the model will face its biggest test yet on Friday, when crowds in the several hundreds of thousands will start descending upon Austin for the annual South by Southwest festival, a nine-day event that could be accurately described as a tech conference, a music and film festival, and a huge mess. In tech circles, SXSW is renowned for propelling Twitter Inc. and other apps to prominence, at least temporarily. This year’s speakers include Mark Cuban, Gawker’s Nick Denton and Reddit Inc. co-founder Alexis Ohanian.

There are currently seven ride-hailing apps operating in Austin, all of which were in compliance with fingerprinting rules as of Feb. 15, the city said. None of their names will sound familiar to most SXSW attendees. Two apps are leading the pack: RideAustin and Fasten. Both claim to be the city’s leading ride-hailing provider. Michael Ferguson, a professional realtor and recreational beer consumer, prefers RideAustin to get him home after a night of drinking. “RideAustin is pretty normal, man; the app works pretty good, and they have a lot of drivers,” Mr. Ferguson said. “I don’t think that for the customer, getting around this town is an issue anymore.”

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Across the pond, mcgarrybowen London introduced a new spot for Western Union entitled “#TheRaceIsOn” in time for International Women’s Day.

The anthem ad opens with the line, “Okay girls, the race is on,” as girls around the world break into a sprint. But this is no ordinary race. Rather, the spot calls on girls to be “the first female to run the United Nations,” “the first female to run the United States” and other pioneering roles.

The spot concludes by calling on girls to “study hard and dream bigger,” tying the message to Western Union’s role in supporting education. Viewers are told to visit a campaign landing page to learn more. Among Western Union’s “Chain of Betters” initiatives is a WU Scholars program which provides students around the world with help funding their education. It’s also Western Union’s second consecutive International Women’s Day effort.

“International Women’s Day is an opportunity to shine a light on the accomplishments of women, especially the hundreds of millions that cross borders and are economic change agents for their families, their home countries, and their host nations across the globe,” Western Union president and CEO Hikmet Ersek said in a statement.

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Many of you will feel bad for the race car in Droga5 London’s first ad for automaker Seat. That is because you’re crazy. It has no feelings! Oh, but it does, and they’re expertly drawn out by director Noam Murro in the 90-second spot below, which cleverly rubbishes the idea that race cars are the…

(TrendHunter.com) Nike has been venturing into new territory as of late with a new footwear design to beat the two-hour marathon barrier, an athletic hijab for Muslim women and the first-ever Nike Plus Size Collection….

With “Andi Mack,” a comedic drama that’s bitter and sweet, Disney Channel stretches its brand. It’s part of an effort to lift sinking ratings.