Halio - The Heterophobic Taxi Driver (2015) (Ireland)

In this hidden camera experiment, we find a cab driver and a cab with four hidden cameras. As the driver takes passengers, he takes a phone call, that the passengers overhear. His friend Johnny complains on the phone that he had a "straight couple in the back", and that they were holding hands and kissing on cheeks - the gall of these people, right? Soon the passengers get involved in the conversation, except for that one guy who spends the entire ride looking like Beaker the muppet. They even notice the "no breeders" sticker in the cab and get upset with the driver. Now, I'm not a fan of these hidden camera setups, I've never been (the original black and white hidden camera show made me feel nauseous as a kid), so what I like about this is the twist at the end - there's a flyer in the cab that offers to drive people to the polls for free, as Ireland is about to vote on a change of the wording in their constitution to allow same sex marriage. It also serves to promote Halio's new Pre-Book facility, reminding people to book a cab to get to the polling station on time. At least one woman in the cab seems really amused by the idea and appreciative of the free ride to vote.

“Dublin’s cabbies have lots of opinions and are well known for sharing them” comments, Kevin Keenan, Creative Director at Guns or Knives. “So we flipped a traditional prejudice, to give a satirical take on discrimination. Then we found a proper Dublin taxi driver who we reckoned could pull it off.”
It was essential for the project to air just before the two day media moratorium, to fill the void in the discussion about the referendum.
“The timing of the piece was crucial. We didn’t have a lot of time and from idea to airing, the project was completed in just under a week.”

Client: Hailo
Advertising Agency: Guns or Knives
Creative Director: Kevin Keenan
Art Director: Barry Sweeney
Copywriter: Shane Brennan
Managing Director: Zara Flynn
Account Director: Róisín Field
Account Manager: Anna Reddan
Agency Producer: Claire O'Doherty
PR: Slattery PR
Production Company: Dave Davin, RAIC Productions
Director: Stu Teehan
Location Producer: Eoin Kernan
Sound Operator: Alan Scully​

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