inDrive Introduces Cashless Payments With Bold Campaign Built On Transparency And Local Relevance

Instead of presenting the update as innovation, the brand’s new “Cashless” campaign leans into its timing. It frames the shift with a rare bit of self-awareness: this isn’t about being first, but about catching up — and owning that reality in the creative.

Pigs fly in inDrive's latest commercial. Source: YouTube.

Reframing the story

Rolling out across South Africa from April through July, the campaign openly acknowledges what everyone already knows: cashless payments are not news. But by admitting that upfront, inDrive reframes the story. While the brand may have arrived late to card payments, it has long focused on being first where it matters — giving people more choice and a fairer way to ride.

At the heart of the campaign is the familiar idiom “when pigs fly.” If inDrive has finally introduced cashless, then maybe the impossible really can happen. Built around that thought, the campaign uses surreal humour, self-irony, and a distinctly South African tone to make the update feel more memorable, human, and real.

The idea comes to life through two audience-focused films. For passengers, the campaign is led by South African comedian and actor Mpho Popps, whose unmistakably local energy helps deliver the message: “The last ride app to add card payment. The first to let you choose the price.” The tagline captures the spirit of the launch in two words: “Cashless. Finally.”

For drivers, the same creative platform takes on a more conversational form, rooted in everyday banter and skepticism around unlikely news. The impossible becomes the punchline — until it turns out to be true, and the flying pigs do too. The flying pigs also became a craft story of their own — created by inDrive’s in-house team through AI-led design and animation, then manually composited into the final films.

Across both executions, Cashless uses humour not to exaggerate the launch, but to disarm it. By owning an imperfection instead of hiding it, inDrive makes the message feel more honest, more relatable, and more in tune with how people actually speak. In a category full of polished promises, the campaign shows that sometimes the strongest way to announce something new is to admit you should have done it sooner.

The campaign is rolling out across performance, OLV and OOH, including murals, Radio, Influencers and SMM, from April through July.

Credits

Passengers campaign

• Client: inDrive
• Agencies: inlab

inDrive team:

• Brand director - Mikhail ​Chernyshev
• Senior brand manager - Elizaveta Neverova
• Marketing director EMEA & APAC - Anna Migal
• Marketing lead Africa - Mikita Ponarin
• Consumer research lead manager - Nadya Suetina

inlab team:

• Creative team leader EMEA - Eugene Gavrilchenko
• Senior marketing communications manager - Irina Arebinia
• Marketing communications manager - Assel Nurkabayeva
• Senior creator - Olga Travina
• Senior creator - Irina Shamgunova
• Senior designer - Evgeniy Gurenko
• Production lead - Lana Lee
• Senior post-production producer - Max Lyapin
• Designer / illustrator - Svetlana Kazhenkina
• CG - Kostya Lashin
• AI tech lead - Katya Garnet
• Sound engineer - Andrey Kasin
• Colorist - Alex Lapeykin
• Tech editor - Vlad Rodin
• Production Company: Simpleman
• Director - Mark Middlewick
• Executive Producer - James Westcott

Drivers campaign

• Client: inDrive
• Agencies: inlab

inDrive team:

• Head of drivers marketing - Anastasiia Terentieva
• Driver marketing lead EMEA - Adi Silva

inlab team:

• Creative team leader EMEA - Eugene Gavrilchenko
• Creator - Maksim Eshkilev
• Senior marketing communications manager - Irina Arebinia
• Senior designer - Evgeniy Gurenko
• Designer - Oleg Peters
• Production: Full House Creative Agency