Mother worked with Uber Eats to convince the nation to move away from modern day hustle culture and instead shine a light on the simple enjoyment of doing less every once in a while.

A Time for Change

During 2022, the food delivery category had matured from the impressive novelty it once was in 2013, to an essential utility. Most people had at least one of the big three apps, and a whopping 60% were hopping between them when ordering.

However, almost a decade later, communications had not further progressed or evolved. The big players were all saying the same things: look at everything we have on offer, and look how quickly we can get it to you. It was time for a shift in the movement. For this brand campaign, we asked how could we make people prefer Uber Eats in a commoditized market without any major differentiation.

Time to Shake Up the Ordinary

Uber Eats was third in the delivery category spend and brand preference. When every brand loves to obsess over the fast and functional delivery of food, it was our opportunity to stand out from the crowd,and finally stop ‘adsplaining’ what food delivery is to an audience who views the process as a ‘lazy indulgence’ rather than a smarter use of their time.

Being Productive is Overrated

Uber Eats had identified its key ‘source of growth’ audiences: 25-34 year old young professionals and 35-44 families. Although they splash the cash within the category, they have a lower preference for Uber Eats. For them, life was defined by a constant fast pace of life; pressure to keep up professionally, socially and financially. We named them the “Mad Years” audience, and hunted for a meaningful way to connect with them. As a society, we had been indoctrinated by the idea that doing more was how we should all be living, and online food delivery was enabling this, making it easier to work late and pack more into every day. Within this data, we saw an opportunity for Uber Eats to challenge this convention whilst establishing a meaningful role for our “Mad Years” audience.

Rather than focusing on the familiar offerings, such as restaurant partners or speed of delivery, we focussed on the most evocative and often overlooked moment. The window between ordering food and getting it delivered. That sweet downtime where extra space is created and rather than being hyper-productive we see our characters live better by enjoying doing less. We created a campaign that wasn’t about the food - but about the art of doing ‘nothing’ - while your food gets delivered effortlessly for you.

Amidst the Craziness, it Was Time to Embrace the Art of Doing Less

The campaign idea was rooted in making laziness an art form. One that Uber Eats users could perfect and embrace. We call it ‘The Art of Doing Less’, and the campaign consists of 3 TV & Cinema spots, ‘Parrot’, ‘Dance’ and ‘Nails’, as well as a bespoke social campaign and OOH. We also implemented a gaming activation: where famous twitch streamers embodied the artform of doing less by taking well deserved breaks.

Continuing on the Vision with Uber Eats: 'Groceries'

And the idea hasn’t stopped there…in our most recent campaign Uber Eats continues to ask the nation to embrace doing a little less, with our new campaign ‘Get Groceries, Effortlessly’.

For a campaign focussed on laziness, the results it achieved were very hard-working:

• Winner of the Gold Cannes Lion Award 2023, in the film category.
• Top of mind awareness grew by 13%, overtaking our biggest rival. Our highest ever score.
• Brand preference grew by 8%, again reaching its highest ever score.
• In London we now hold the #1 position in top of mind awareness, preference and consideration, and the joint #1 position (with Deliveroo) in unaided awareness and selection perception
• We also gave Uber Eats a role in a cultural conversation that transcended the delivery category and the lazy conventions which had defined communications over the past years, driving the reappraisal we were seeking.