Students have a chance to get a free ride and a free car if they take a new cab hitting campus this week.
The Chevy Aveo5 Livin’ Large College Cab will provide 10 free cab rides per day, giving participants a chance to win their own Chevy Aveo5.
Rides will be administered from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Students can hail the cab when the roof light is lit and the car is parked near the Duck Store, the Student Recreation Center or the EMU. Only two people will be allowed in the cab for a one-way trip of up to three miles.
While riding in the back seat, a video camera will tape 2 1/2 to three minutes of the ride. Students’ videos will be posted at www.AveoLivinLarge.com, and the one that attracts the most views of all of the University videos will be sent to the finals. The winning video will go on to compete for student votes against the other five participating universities’ finalist videos, Nov. 10 through 14.
Students can fill their video time by singing a song, performing a comical act, or doing anything within reason to get the most votes.
Nathan Hudson, 23, is the sole driver of the program this week at the University. He graduated in 2007 from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s of science in Biopsychology.
“The most elaborate act I saw was a girl that brought juggling balls and juggled in the car,” Hudson said.
University students have ideas of their own.
“Maybe I’ll do a pre-Halloween costume,” said University senior Nathan Eckstein.
Hudson’s prior insight might help him decide where to travel while filming video.
“Some people go home, some joyride to make the video, some go downtown, and some go to restaurants,” Hudson said.
At other universities, students have been shy about taking a ride in the cab.
“It’s harder to get students into the cab than it looks. People hear it’s free and wonder what the gimmick is. It’s all fun,” Hudson said.
Eckstein agreed.
“It’s an interesting idea for students to get excited about,” Eckstein said.
The actual odds of winning the car are about one out of 420, but students can also win prizes such as T-shirts and iPods.
The College Cab is not the typical taxi cab yellow, but a slate gray embellished with “Livin’ Large” logos and text. It is also a fleet vehicle, the kind typically sold to businesses or the government.
The University’s American Marketing Association partnered with Weber Shandwick, a public relations firm representing General Motors, to promote the program.
“This is overall a great project for the club,” said University senior Josh Benton, an AMA club member. “We are working with the number one PR firm for General Motors,” Benton said.
General Motors is not the first company to tap into the college campus marketing scene. Ford partnered with mtvU this fall to create College 500, a reality television show where students on red and blue teams drive from New Jersey to California in Ford Focuses trying to win $15,000.
College students also take part in academic contests, often aiding the marketing departments of automobile giants. In 2006, Toyota gave away scholarships to the top three art classes that came up with marketing campaigns for the Toyota Yaris.
Student reaction to campus marketing campaigns is hardly uproar.
“I don’t mind them and you usually get something free as you walk by,” Eckstein said.
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