Uber Does Your Nails

First kittens, then puppies, now manicures.

In its latest unique branch-out, on Friday (Jan. 30), Uber repurposed a Washington, D.C., Mother’s Day promotion and offered on-demand manicures throughout Boston.

The service, dubbed UberMANI, served as crossover publicity for both Uber and Manicube, an in-office manicure business. The cost was free, available through an UberMANI option in the Uber app, and the only requirement was a three-person minimum per request.

The promotion came on the heels (no pun intended) of Uber’s Animal Planet/’Puppy Bowl XI’ crossover event that took place on Jan. 28, wherein Uber delivered puppies for 15 minutes of playtime to users in Atlanta, Baltimore, Cleveland, Dallas, D.C., Denver, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Seattle.

The Puppy Bowl event itself was predated by “UberKittens.” First run in 2013, the “UberKittens” promotion offered kitten delivery (likewise not for permanent ownership) in select cities on National Cat Day (Oct. 29) — and has been a success for two consecutive years now.

Arguably the name to beat in the app-based transportation game, it cannot be said of Uber that the company is resting on its laurels, as evinced by its varied efforts at raising brand awareness.  Whether or not delivering puppies, kittens and now manicures is a surefire tactic for long-term success remains to be seen (UberEssentials, the company’s non-promotional foray into on-demand product delivery, was recently shelved)…but, at the very least, it’s certainly giving consumers something to talk about.

Perhaps even while they’re getting their nails done.