For some Lyft drivers, the oversized pink mustache stuck on the front of the car was a cool way to mark them out from the crowd, a surefire way to grab attention, get talked about, and establish the brand; for other drivers, and passengers too, it was a bit of an embarrassment.
The furry pink appendage has been gracing Lyft cars ever since its first vehicle hit the streets of San Francisco back in 2012. But now the ride-hailing company has decided to shave it off.
Admitting that the pink fluff wasn’t for everyone, Lyft president John Zimmer told Wired recently, “It was this big giant fuzzy thing – if you were going to an important business meeting, it might not be the best way to roll up.”
But get this – the ‘stache isn’t gone for good. The Uber rival has come up with a replacement. No, it’s not a bright green alternative, or even a hairier version of the original. It’s way better than that.
Lyft drivers will now be tootling about with a ‘glowstache’ perched on their dashboard. As its name cleverly suggests, the glowstache is a glow-in-the-dark number, made of plastic.
The banana-sized shining mustache will reportedly emit a gentle pink glow while “floating” on a driver’s dashboard, a feat apparently achieved with the help of some carefully placed magnets.
Strong reactions
Jesse McMillin, Lyft’s recently installed creative director, is one of several people behind Lyft’s latest branding initiative. He told Wired that he was well aware that having a massive furry pink object attached to the front of the car provoked strong reactions among both drivers and passengers.
“People were either like, ‘I love it,’ or ‘I never want to get in a car like that,’” McMillin told Wired, adding that the ‘staches didn’t always look their best, often ending up messy and matted.
So this month it’s all change. The company will start issuing the glowing replacements in the next week or so, with Zimmer believing the new glowstache to be “more modern, more fresh, and also more acceptable for everyone.”
