Riders calling for an Uber car Thursday through Sunday of this weekend could just get the royal treatment they want — that is, if they're in New York or Los Angeles.
The rideshare service is running a very royal promotion in which riders can ask for a "Royals" themed-Rolls Royce vehicle. The luxury car will be pimped out promoting the cable series "The Royals," and all Uber wants in return is for riders to share their royal treatment on Twitter by tweeting a note using the hashtag #TheRoyals.
Riders who tweet will get a chance to be on E! Online as part of the marketing push. The "Royals" is E! Online's first scripted show.
So it's little surprise that one of the first riders to participate in the Uber promotion was, ironically, British actress Elizabeth Hurley, who stars in the show as the Queen and matriarch of Britain's ruling family. The soap opera-style show is about a British family in which every character has some unique quirks. The show was developed by the same writer and producer of "One Tree Hill."
Hurley, in earlier interviews regarding her new series role, has made it clear she has no intention of embarrassing or offending the current British first family.
"I have no trepidation (about the royals' reaction) because after five seconds of watching our version, you know it's not real, you know it's fictitious," she said. "That's where the fun lay for us — it's not so much fun to be playing somebody who really exists. It's much more fun to fantasize. I love our monarchy. I think it's fabulous. They are our movie stars."
Hurley has claimed she based her "Royals" character of Queen on both the late British royal Diana, Princess of Wales and the Disney 101 Dalmatians villain Cruella de Vil.
The royal promotion, which coincides with the kick-off of "The Royals" show, is one of the rare positive news events connected with Uber as the rideshare service is locked in a very competitive battle with Lyft. Both car services are busy fighting driver protests as well as courtroom battles regarding their business strategies.
Both rideshare services have been under scrutiny and public attack for reportedly not-so-good business practices and creating a big disturbance in the taxi and limousine industries worldwide. In some cases, the services have been banned by municipalities and have been dealing with claims that drivers aren't being treated properly.
