Taxi makes its own medium with Food Content Alerts

Years ago I went to see an allergist and had one of those tests done, the one where they stick like thirty different needles in your arm, each dipped in some common allergen. It turned out I was slightly allergic to chicken, shellfish and common grass. I shrugged my shoulders and continued on my way to the Endless Shrimp Festival at Red Lobster.

Many other people can’t be so laissez-faire about the foods they eat. You wouldn’t expect an ad agency to take much initiative in helping out with this problem, at least not unless dictated by a client or moved to serve a particular cause. But the Content Group of renowned New York ad shop Taxi has stepped up, launching a beta version of a website/mobile application called Food Content Alerts. The website, designed to connect food allergy sufferers and help them plan delicious meals that sidestep their danger foods, while the mobile app helps with trips to the supermarket, pointing out foods that allergy sufferers might not be aware of as triggers.

The site, which will officially launch in August, is Taxi Content’s first foray into its own intellectual property (you knew there had to be an advertising side to this story!) In essence, Taxi has created its own sandbox for advertisers to play in, one with a potentially huge targeted, underserved audience.