Uber labelled a transport service, Burger King gifts customer a restaurant: International round-up

Uber labelled a transport service by Europe’s highest court

More bad news for Uber – it has now been officially labelled a “transport service” instead of an digital service by Europe’s top court.

Uber has consistently argued that it is only an app that connects passengers to cab drivers through technology, as opposed to a transport service.

That definition has helped the company avoid the stricter regulations which apply to other transport services. Instead, Uber has been subject to the lighter EU rules which cover digital services operating across borders.

The court says in a statement: “The service provided by Uber connecting individuals with non-professional drivers is covered by services in the field of transport. [EU] Member States can therefore regulate the conditions for providing that service.”

Uber said the ruling wouldn’t affect its operations in countries where it already follows transport law.

READ MORE: Europe’s highest court just ruled Uber is a transport service — and it’s a massive blow

Burger King France gifts loyal customer his own restaurant

Sullyvan is one of Burger King France’s most loyal and socially active customers. He frequently visits the Burger King Bordeaux Mérignac outlet, and has posted the most comments on the brand’s Facebook page (637 so far).

To thank him, the brand decided to offer him the biggest gift they could imagine: his own Burger King restaurant. It took 35 workmen and more than one kilometre of material to wrap it in one night.

Inside the restaurant, which is entitled “Home of Sullyvan K.”, everything was changed. He has his own parking spot, his own golden tray, his own table and even his own Whopper packaging. More importantly, he now gets to eat for free at his Burger King for a whole year.

From 19 December, the individual who writes the most comments under Sullyvan’s video will win one year of free Burger King meals. The stunt has already proven popular; there were more than 40,000 comments a few hours after launching.

France orders WhatsApp to stop sharing data with Facebook

Facebook has been given a strict ultimatum – stop unlawfully sharing WhatsApp data or face a hefty fine.

The social network is still transferring WhatsApp data for “business intelligence”, France’s data protection agency CNIL claims, and the only way users can opt out is by uninstalling the app.

When the regulator repeatedly asked to see the data, Facebook said that it is stored in the US, and “it considers that it is only subject to the legislation of the country,” according to the CNIL. The regulator countered that any time data is gathered in France, it becomes the authority in charge.

Facebook is also in trouble in Germany, where the competition authority accused it of transferring user data in an “abusive” way to third party sites.

READ MORE: France gives WhatsApp a month to stop sharing data with Facebook

KFC casts first ever ‘unknown’ actor as colonel to save costs

For the first time since launching its Colonel campaign, KFC has tapped an unknown actor to play the role of Value Colonel in its TV ads in the US.

By not spending money on a celebrity Colonel, KFC is saving money on its value campaign, which looks to convince consumers to try its “complete meals at affordable prices”.

A relatively unknown actor, Christopher Boyer has filled the background in popular shows for years in roles like “man in mattress store”, “professor” and “old seasoned farmer”. Coincidentally, Boyer also auditioned for the role of Colonel Sanders in 2015 when KFC initially started casting for its Colonel campaign.

“After casting a wide net to find our next Colonel we were pleasantly surprised when we found Boyer,” says KFC US director of brand communications George Felix. “Much like the Colonel, he’s held a lot of forgettable roles before becoming the world’s most famous chicken salesman. Heck, he even auditioned for the role of the Colonel several years ago, and we didn’t remember him.”

Nike teams up with Google for Philippine campaign

Nike has launched a sequel to its ‘Unlimited’ campaign – which saw Philippine runners race against themselves – with the creation of a series of arty basketball courts in Manila in the Philippines.

Teaming up with BBH Singapore and Google, the sportswear brand aimed to bridge the gap between online content and offline experiences through a number of basketball courts featuring painted murals of NBA stars, including Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant.

Consumers at the five courts – located in five districts of Manila – can access a platform, without using up any of their data, that features training drills from coaches to help them with their technique. The more a player uses the platform, the more it learns and makes recommendations. The brand ultimately hopes to inspire the next top basketball player to take up the sport.

READ MORE: BBH Singapore follows up Nike’s ‘unlimited stadium’ with ‘hyper’ basketball court