Chinese largest ride-hailing platform Didi has recently produced a variety show for drivers to show their talents and tell their stories, in a bid to rebuild the company’s image amid recent criticisms, local tech media 36Kr reported.
The show, titled Shifu Go Go Go, is set to build up a stage for Didi’s drivers across all types of ride-hailing services to share their stories and pursue their dreams. Participants of the show will showcase their talents including singing, dancing, and stunts to impress four celebrity judges during the audition. Those who make it through the audition will compete for awards such as “national driver” and “top ten popular drivers” in the finale.
The show was premiered on Wednesday on the Chinese video streaming platform Iqiyi, which was also a co-producer of this variety program, and lasted for about an hour.
This is not Didi’s first move into the entertainment industry. The ride-hailing giant has cooperated with Chinese comedy startup Fun Factory and released a talk show in September, where Didi’s president Liu Qing and several executives from product and service departments responded to the company’s recent controversies in the form of stand-up comedy.
Didi aims to rebuild its corporate image and ease the tension between the company and the public via entertainment after a series of missteps it had run into.
Didi was in bad shape after it was linked to two rape and murders of innocent females within three months back in 2018, both of which were committed by its Hitch car-pooling drivers. The company eventually suspended the Hitch service late last year under social backlash and governmental pressure and started to focus on revamps to ensure passengers’ safety.
The company was under accusations of sexual discrimination after it announced to begin a trial relaunch of Hitch in November, in which male passengers can use the service until 11 p.m. while women had an 8 p.m. curfew. Didi then trimmed Hitch’s operational hours for men to also 8 p.m.
36Kr is KrASIA’s parent company.