Uber Taxi turns 99% off rides into a Hollywood Zakoshi comedy sketch
Uber Taxi uses Hollywood Zakoshi's exaggerated comedy to make a 99% first-ride offer memorable in Japan.
At the end of a long workday, a taxi can feel like a small luxury. Uber Taxi's new Japan commercials turn that familiar hesitation into a deliberately ridiculous sight gag: someone notices a near-total discount and reacts as if they have transformed into one of the country's most exaggerated comedians.
The comedian is Hollywood Zakoshisyoh, known for over-the-top impersonations and reactions. Rather than have him simply recite a promotional price, Uber makes his exaggerated persona the visual language of the offer. The joke is that a 99% discount sounds so improbable that ordinary commuters briefly become Zakoshi themselves.
Uber Japan's 'Exaggerated Discount' campaign runs from September 18 to October 24, 2026. It was developed with VML & Ogilvy Japan and WPP Media and pairs a nationwide introductory offer with digital films and outdoor advertising, including a takeover at Tokyo's Shibuya Station.
A 99% discount becomes a comedy routine
The official promotion gives eligible people using Uber Taxi or Uber Premium for the first time 99% off each of their first three rides, capped at ¥3,000 per ride. That cap matters: the creative emphasizes the enormous percentage, while the actual offer has a specific monetary limit.
In one 15-second film, three women are wrapping up dinner and checking a selfie when a large discount advertisement catches their attention. As one reaches for her phone to book a ride, she transforms into Zakoshi. In another film, an office worker finishing overtime encounters the same offer on his computer before undergoing his own comic transformation.
These are not random settings. A late dinner, an extended office shift and a missed train are moments when a person might reconsider how to get home. Uber's films insert the offer directly into that decision, then use the comedian's outsized performance to make it memorable.
Why Hollywood Zakoshi fits the punchline
Zakoshi has built his comedy identity around exaggerated impersonations. Uber's official announcement identifies him as the winner of the 2016 R-1 Grand Prix comedy competition. His recognizable performance style gives the campaign a culturally specific hook that a conventional celebrity endorsement would not necessarily provide.
Instead of treating the performer as a face beside a discount, the films make the discount behave like his act. The transformation gag makes the audience understand the premise before anyone needs to explain why the number is startling.
Junkichi Tatsuki, senior creative director at VML & Ogilvy Japan, described the challenge as finding a way to make another discount offer stand out when taxi services are competing for attention. The team chose a distinctly Japanese comedic reference and placed it at the moment someone is deciding whether to book a ride.
The campaign extends beyond the phone screen
The media plan includes six-second and 15-second digital spots and outdoor placements at Shibuya Station. Those formats serve different roles. The short films carry the transformation joke, while the station placement puts the message in a setting already associated with urban travel decisions.
The campaign also illustrates a distinction between a promotion and a brand story. A price incentive can persuade someone to try a service once; a distinctive joke can make the offer easier to recognize across channels. Neither effect proves bookings increased, and Uber has not disclosed conversion results in the reviewed sources.
Compared with app campaigns that foreground interface features or convenience claims, this creative leads with a familiar human moment and a performer whose humor is part of the idea itself. The product benefit is still straightforward: make a first booking feel worth trying.
What marketers can take from it
The most useful lesson is not that every discount needs a comedian. It is that the creative device should make the actual offer easier to remember. Here, 'exaggeration' is both the entertainer's signature and the way a consumer might describe 99% off.
That connection helps a familiar acquisition tactic feel more locally rooted. The campaign's success will ultimately depend on whether first-time riders try the service and return after the introductory pricing ends, outcomes the available announcements do not establish.
Sources: Uber Japan's official campaign announcement; MARKETECH APAC; Branding in Asia.