Cannes Lions
SPECIAL, Sydney / UBER EATS / 2020
Awards:
Overview
Entries
Credits
Background
We sponsored the Australian Open for the second year in a row, which was a bold move considering the success of last year’s campaign. Our quest was an undeniable challenge...to beat last year’s triumph. One thing we did observe was that even our ads, surprising as they were, were still played again and again.
So in 2020 we made repetition our enemy. We had to leverage our 'Tonight I’ll be Eating' campaign, in a way that was highly relevant to the Australian Open, but would not put viewers, who were sick of seeing the same ads on repeat, off.
Last year, our ads posed as part of a moment in the game, this year viewers enjoyed comedic moments beyond the ad break and live tennis. No moment was safe from ‘Tonight, I’ll be Eating’, with our ads masquerading as refreshers, replays, classic moments reels, interviews and player statistics graphics.
Idea
We had to leverage our 'Tonight, I’ll be Eating' campaign, in a way that was highly relevant to the Australian Open, while keeping sports fans entertained and on their toes, in the bits between the sports. So we hacked the broadcast, disguising our ads as different moments of tennis.
We created a different ad for every day of the tournament, always playing off a different moment of the tennis. Whether it was water breaks, graphics, slow motion replays, commentators, classic moments or press conferences, no moment was safe from becoming an Uber Eats ad. This meant viewers were constantly surprised and kept guessing what was coming next.
Strategy
The now famous 'Australian Open Ambush' campaign from the year before had already propelled the brand into a category leader position and from a brand perspective, our awareness had peaked.
We set ourselves a goal to heighten the fame of the brand by firmly cementing ‘Tonight, I’ll Be Eating’ into culture; and to use this strategy to expand our existing demographic.
We did this by:
- Creating cultural moments, not ads by finding new innovative and newsworthy ways of getting ‘Tonight, I’ll Be Eating...’ into newsfeeds and onto the national news
- Earned media approach. This involved using top tiered talent and media partnerships which was achieved through sponsorships and celebrities.
Execution
We only bought ad spaces which were at the end of each commercial break, leaving viewers thinking they were back watching the live broadcast. We used the same stadium, cameras, players, commentators, even match outfits, that were used during the exact live match that was playing. Because of this, no one was expecting it when they turned to the camera and delivered a 'Tonight, I’ll be Eating...' line.
We picked a different moment of tennis for each spot. Replays, water breaks, ball girls, commentators, press conferences, player graphics, slow mo replays and more - any tennis moment could be an Uber Eats ad.
The campaign ran during the 14 days of the tournament itself, during moments of live broadcast tennis.
Outcome
For our Uber Eats No Repeats campaign, topping the success of the year before was no easy feat. However, this campaign managed to earn over 11 million impressions and 6.8 million video views, which was up 11% from the year before.
We proved that as long as you keep things fresh, people are willing to watch the ads.
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