The popularity of delivery apps sky-rocketed during the pandemic. With multiple players making heavy strategic investments in the Québec market, Uber Eats needed to quickly catapult their Share of Voice and strengthen their position. To assert their dominance and win over hearts, minds, and stomachs of Québécois, the brief was simple yet not easy: make their popular global campaign relevant and meaningful to the Québec market.

Through their celebrated campaign, Uber Eats has brought together unlikely pairs of superstars in surprising, quirky ways, with the intent of impacting culture – globally, nationally, and locally. Our objective was to adapt the campaign to create genuine conversation in earned media and among the proudly unique people of Québec. The intent of our PR-driven campaign was to establish Uber Eats as the brand that understands and shares Québécois’ fervent passion for food, fun, and the Canadiens of Montréal.

The spark of our idea came from one of the most unforgettable events in Québec sports history. In 1995, the Montréal Canadiens’ historic winning streak ended abruptly when Patrick Roy, the beloved goalie, was left on the ice by his coach Mario Tremblay despite conceding nine goals. As Roy finally got off, for the last time with the Canadiens, the two exchanged a glaring stare that still haunts fans to this day. That moment was memorialized as a breaking point of the team who never reached the finals ever again, the lifelong friends and teammates never spoke again, and the Canadiens’ malaise since has made fans and even players believe they were cursed from that point onward. 26 years later, the food delivery service made an impossible ‘Reunion’ by bringing together two icy foes who were once friends for one last stare-down over what to order tonight from Uber Eats.

If it appears ironic that one of Québec’s most storied sports events was an icy stare by a hockey goalie, you understand the uniquely subtle yet passionate nature of the people of Québec. In a province where hockey is a cultural institution, and the Montréal Canadiens a religion, fables loom large in the Legend of the Habs (the team’s nickname). After winning more Stanley Cups than any franchise, the Habs’ championship drought since Roy’s historic departure felt nearly biblical to the Canadiens faithful.

So for ‘The Reunion’, the strategy was to pair these two well-known hockey figures in Québec culture who would not only fit within the “Tonight, I’ll Be Eating” tone, but who also carried a strong, public tension that would naturally drive earned media. Targeting French-speaking residents of Québec, the launch started with Twitter-dominant sports journalists before hitting mainstream broadcast and social channels to perpetuate the conversation.

The campaign launched with a tweet from Mario Tremblay looking for Patrick Roy. Such a peculiar tease quickly became a hot topic for sports journalists and hockey fans wondering why the old coach was reaching out given their storied history. A few hours later, the 0:30 spot strategically aired on TV during the Canadiens’ playoff game against their rivals, the Maple Leafs. Watched live by close to 1 million Quebecois, the spot spread like wildfire on social media.

The 0:30 was supported by two original 0:15 spots and broadcasted on 11 channels in Quebec including TVA Sports, RDS, and Radio-Canada. Broadcast interviews took place post game and behind the scenes content aired exclusively on L'Antichambre.

The campaign ran from May 27 2021 to February 2022, and concluded with an in-app contest and 20 out-of-home billboards in the biggest cities across the province.

The ‘Reunion' scored big in Québec overnight, starting with a teaser from Tremblay to Roy that quickly trended on Twitter. The campaign triggered national TV outlet ICI-RDI to make a vox pop in the streets to get live reactions from Québécois. The buzz earned headlines in every national publication with over 75 mentions and dominated broadcast and radio airwaves.

The spot topped lists of best ads of the year in Québec, earning over 160 million impressions in a province of only 8.5 million residents. It was even parodied on the iconic ByeBye, a year-end television show which was the most watched in the history of Québec television with 4.9MM tuning in.

The 30-second ad was supported by two original 15-second spots. BTS content was exclusively broadcasted on L’Antichambre - the biggest hockey TV show in Québec - and was acclaimed by fans happy to see them really being friends again. The Reunion hit meme status with an overwhelmingly positive response, elevating brand sentiment for Uber Eats; especially since it seemed to have broken the curse: for the first time since the feud, the Canadiens reached the Stanley Cup finals.

Local restaurants also scored big with Uber Eats racking up assists in sales, the in-app contest generated over 50K unique Uber Eats trips, plus a $40+ basket size making it the most successful Uber Eats campaign ever in Canada.

The ‘Reunion' didn’t just elevate brand perception of Uber Eats, it cemented a place in Québec culture and in Montréal Canadiens’ lore.